Chronicles of a Sexy Greek Man
by Piano'sIrishTater
Summary: Cats, naps, waiting tables, falling in love. Life was going as usual for Heracles. Just...normal and calm. That is, until he met Kiku. And found he's been keeping a secret from him. One that is detrimental for their survival. Giripan
1. Jingle and Kiku

**New story! Woo! Jingle is based off a real kitty :)**

I had never been into this store before, always passing by on my daily stroll but never thinking to stop in, not until today. There was a sign in the window that almost had me running, sprinting down the street in my rush. What if there were none left? What if they had sold out but forgotten to take the sign down? Then my dreams would be crushed… and I'd have to take a side trip to the pound on my way home. As it was, I had to at least attempt. So I went inside, taking in the vastness of it all while following the many signs that pointed straight to a pen, occupied by just one little tabby kitten, who was staring up at me with big, clear blue eyes.

There was a very bored looking woman standing guard over the only leftover from the mad rush that surely ensued after they had placed the "free kittens" signs on the walls. She barely seemed to notice me, even as I picked up the tiny cat and stroked it, feeling its tremulous purrs rumble through me. It wasn't until I had cleared my throat and silently gestured I was taking him that she noticed, giving me a broad smile and waving me away, clearly glad to be rid of her burden. Upset by her disregard for this miniscule creature's life, I stalked towards the cat toy section, stroking the kitten methodically and deciding instantly to name him Jingle.

I picked up the first toy I saw, which ended up being a mouse tied to a string, and set Jingle down, playing with him by pulling it out of his reach as soon as it appeared he had caught it. I couldn't help but laugh at the disappointment he had on his face the second I took it away for good, putting it back on the shelf and scooping him up. Realizing I needed food, I meandered on, turning the corner lightly, only run smack into another person and end up on the ground with an "Oof!". When I opened my eyes again, it was in panic. Was Jingle okay? The relief was immediate when I saw him curled up in the crook of my arm, eyes wide with terror, but uninjured.

Convinced my new pet was fine, I looked over at the person I had collided with and said, "I'm sorry… sir."

"No, no… please forgive me. I should have been watching where I was going," he answered, his voice soft and timid, tinged with a Japanese accent. Quickly, he bowed, before gathering up the bag of dog food I had caused him to throw and a tiny, white thing that could have been a cat if it wasn't barking at Jingle.

The man had nice eyes, I thought, calming and dark, framed by black hair and a young, rounded face. But he seemed a little strung up, tense in a permanent way that no amount of relaxation could ever fix. But, unexpectedly, he stood and hurried away without giving me a chance to say anything else, so I decided to just let the experience go and walk back home where the rest of my "family" awaited me, hungry. After buying the food, I headed home, fed my cats, and laid in my backyard, staring up at the blue sky lazily, sleeping my way through another afternoon.

I woke up to the sun setting on the horizon, slipping away and telling me that it was time to get to work. I had the nightshift at a local restaurant, where I worked as a waiter, serving up all kinds of food for all kinds of people, and, though I was often late from oversleeping, I was always the employee of the month. I was good at serving, and even got large tips from time to time, which was why my boss didn't fire me on the spot. I was still useful to him; a few, slick words from me had our customers in a good mood. A good, HUNGRY mood. Which was exactly what made Boss happy. And if he was happy… well, the rest of us were, too.

I roused myself off the ground and went to my room to put on my serving clothes. As I checked myself in the mirror, I grimaced at my name tag that said "Hello, my name is Heracles!" in cheery, bright pink letters. Half of my name had been chewed off. With a sigh, I started to attempt to come up with an excuse for that while hopping into my car and heading to the restaurant.

I made it just on time, assuming the position behind the podium as I waited for some customers to come in and trying to keep my eyes open. I couldn't afford to fall asleep on the job again if I wanted to keep it. And with my clan of cats at home… well, I had to do something to keep them from devouring me and each other out of hunger. Just as I began dozing off a little, there was a loud "smack" of someone slamming down menus right in my face. I jolted upwards, alerted, and turned to see my higher up coworker, Lovino, staring at me with his typical scowl. As his arms crossed, I knew I had done something to anger him, but before I could figure out what it was, he started growling at me.

"Pay attention for once in your life! We have customers, damn it, and I expect you to actually DO something for once!"

I stared lazily as he walked away, making wild, infuriated gestures with his arms. Not really understanding why he was always so wound up, I finally registered the reason he had been yelling at me in the first place and turned back to find a lobby full of hungry people, looking back at me with a wide variety of facial expression, though most of them just seemed confused and hungry. Eyes widening, I got to work as I had been commanded, seating people and taking their orders as fast as I could manage without dropping something and endangering myself to Lovi's wrath.

As I was bringing out the last tray full of food, I noticed that we seemed to be a little shorthanded today. The only server's here were me, Matthew, and Tino. Usually, there were seven of us; the three here, Arthur (who was always cranky), Antonio (who everyone was sure was having some sort of affair with Lovi), Feliciano (Lovi's twin brother who was addicted to pasta), and Sadiq (who hated my guts). After I finished my last food delivery, I decided to ask Tino where everyone was, since he was the easiest to talk to.

"Was today a day off for everyone or something?" I muttered curiously as we wiped off tables.

He looked over at me, his brown eyes troubled as he finished resetting the condiments for the next set of guests. "No, I heard that they're all sick at home. Some sort of flu is going around now, and I'm really worried! What if it's really bad? What if someone dies? What if I bring it home and get Peter or Berwald sick?"

As calmly as I could, I told him, "That won't happen. You're strong, so I'm sure you'll all be fine."

He relaxed a little, sending me a vibrant smile. "Thank you, Herac…" That was when he noticed that half my name had been eaten. With a giggle, he started to point it out, until we both heard the loud, thudding footsteps of Lovino stalking towards us and, quickly, we both got back to work.

After cleaning, I went back to the front to stand behind the podium and wait. I didn't see the man sitting there until he cleared his throat uncomfortably and came over to where I was and muttered quietly, "One, please."

Startled, I looked up into two weirdly familiar pools of dark brown. I recognized him instantly and couldn't help but say, "I've met you…"

His eyebrows furrowed and he opened his mouth, probably to say that I was mistaken, but then the recognition flashed across his face. "Oh, yes, at the pet store. I'm very sorry about that… Mr. Herac. I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings!" Just as he was about to bow or something again, I put a hand up and waved off his concern.

"Table for one, then." I grabbed a menu and led him to a secluded table, which seemed to make him less tense. "I'm Heracles and I'll be your waiter today," I told him, watching with amusement as his eyes flashed to my emaciated tag and back to my face hurriedly. "Can I get you something to drink tonight?"

Though I hadn't even been attempting to make my words sound sexy, he blushed a bright pink and looked away shyly, his dark hair falling over his eyes as he mumbled, "I would like tea, please."

Amused by his bashfulness for no apparent reason, I said, "I'll be right back with that," and walked off, returning with his drink moments later. "Have you decided what you'd like to eat, sir, or should I wait a few more minutes?"

My voice surprised him out of some form of reverie and he flinched as I set the tea down in front of him. "U-uhm… a few more minutes… please…" Again, he flushed and hid his face, never making eye contact with me.

I gave him a nod and a slow smile, though he may not have seen it, before going and seating some other person that had shown up in the meantime. Even while asking this woman what she wanted, my mind was on the shy Japanese man sitting in the booth across the building, and it took a few times of her repeating her order to get me back in line. As I walked to the kitchen to place her request, Lovino pulled me aside, arms crossed again, glaring at me.

"Sadiq just showed up, so you can have a break now. Give him your tables and don't sleep through your god damn second shift again!" he snarled.

He seemed more cranky than usual, which, I suspected, had something to do with the absence of his lover. Lovi was always in a better mood when Antonio showed up for work. Just as I began thinking about love and the effects it had on people, I turned and ran smack into the hairy chest of Sadiq, who was, as usual, wearing a mask over his eyes and an aggravatingly cocky smile.

"Tables?" he demanded, holding out his hands for the orders. "C'mon, Karpusi, we don't have all night! How many tables did you get done today? Two? Well, I'm going to do twice as many!"

I stifled a sigh, handing him the orders and telling him my table numbers. Just as I was getting to the last one, I realized that this was the one where the Japanese man was, and froze with the number "ten" halfway out of my mouth. There was no way I was letting this man frighten him into never coming back here. "One, three, four, seven," I repeated, hoping he hadn't heard me stumble over the last table.

"And ten?" he asked rudely, destroying my hopes.

I shook my head, the whale spout spoink at the top bouncing around as I did. "No, that's someone else's…" I lied. "Tino's. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a nap to take…" With that, I left Sadiq to think he was better than me, returning to the table ten, where the man was sitting, sipping his tea in a calm manner.

"Are you ready now, sir?" I asked politely, expecting him to jump again.

He met my expectations and, in total surprise, even made complete eye contact with me, giving me a perfect view of his handsome face as he took in my proximity nervously. "Y-yes, I have…"

I wrote down his order in my notepad before meeting his gaze again and asking, "I know this seems weird, but I'd really like to know your name, if you wouldn't mind?"

Stunned, he blanched for a moment before answering, "Kiku."

Kiku. I liked the way it sounded. "Well, Kiku, come over some time," I suggested, sliding the supposed "order" page over to him with my address on it before scribbling down the actual request and walking away.

As I placed the order, Sadiq came over to me, huffing in anger. "What are you doing? You're on break, remember?"

There were no words to describe the pleasure I took out of telling him, "Sorry, but you forgot a table."


	2. Egging

**Sorry it takes so long for updates these days... musical practice and all :P Well, hope you enjoy, and please, by all means, feel free to review! It makes me happy :B **

I couldn't stop thinking about him. Even as I lay down to take my late morning nap, his face was running wildly through my mind. Kiku. I didn't even know him… but I wanted to. He had starred in every dream I had had since I met him, if only just to stand in the background and watch quietly as something else chaotic evolved from my mind. His expression was always the same; calm and collected, unfazed by anything said or done. Not even I could shake him out of his stupor. I wondered if he was like that in real life as I turned over restlessly in my bed, causing a few of my cats to grumble and spit as their rest was disturbed.

When I finally decided to get up again, it was about noon. I walked out to the kitchen, yawning, and glancing surreptitiously at my front door in curiosity. I had given him my address last night, but he had never shown up. Unless… maybe he had come while I was sleeping? That was more than possible, since over half my days were spent with me unconscious. Or… maybe he had just never come. He had seemed like a quiet, unsure type of guy, so it was possible that he had been too shy to come over. And there was always the slightly painful option of he didn't want to.

I tried to shake that from my mind as I grabbed some lunch and headed out for my walk. The day was a little grayer than usual, the sun hidden behind dark clouds that pressed down on everything. Not at all the bright, warm day I was hoping for. These were the times that I usually stayed tucked in bed, snuggled up with my kittens. But, as it was, I needed to leave my house and clear my mind, despite the fact the sky looked as if it would start leaking at any moment. Pulling on the closest thing I had to a raincoat, I left Jingle mewling at me anxiously.

I decided to head up to the park, just because it was nice and green there, which would have exactly the calming affect I needed right now. Tired, I put my hands in my pockets and meandered forward, staring at my feet as they moved slowly forward. Just as I started to get into deep thought, I heard a noise that had my head shooting upward. I was sure… I was sure I had just heard Sadiq. Well, so much for my relaxing park stroll. Out of natural curiosity, I decided to keep on moving, following the sound of his obnoxious laughter. Halfway there, I froze, the scene before me too much for possible comprehension.

"Oh, come on, Kiku," Sadiq was saying, pulling on the Japanese man's shirt sleeve. "You know you want to!"

Inconspicuously, I flung myself in the nearest bush.

He was shaking his head, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I… I would really prefer not to," he said politely, trying to get his clothing out of the Turkish man's fist lightly.

With a tongue click, Sadiq let him go, crossing his arms. "But egging is fun! I know exactly whose house we could do, too! In fact, he lives not far from here. Maybe we could do it while he's at work tonight!" He gave an evil laugh, low and deep. "Heracles will never see it coming!"

I looked to Kiku, trying to find some reaction in his expression to my name. Instead he kept the same discomforted face, not affected by it whatsoever. I tried not to feel the hurt that crept up from my heart and concentrated all my attention to the strange conversation instead.

"Vandalism is not a good idea, Sadiq. Besides… I don't think you should. I've been around his house before and it feels rather… unsafe, if you understand." He looked up at his masked counterpart worriedly. "I think Mr. Heracles might be in danger there."

Being, of course, the massive annoyance that he was, the Turk just shrugged and said, "Too bad for him." Then, out of nowhere, the smile fell from his face. "Wait, whoa… you've been over to Karpusi's house? When? Why? I didn't even know you KNEW him!"

I felt my own face flush as his began to burn red and he dropped his gaze to the ground, fidgeting with something in his hands. "Uh… I wasn't aware he was a waiter at the restaurant where you work. He was working last night and he… he served me. Also, I had a run in with him at the pet store."

"Yeah," growled Sadiq, "But that doesn't answer why you've been to his house."

With a tiny sigh that was barely audible from my hiding spot, Kiku told him, "While he was my waiter he gave me his address… and told me to come over."

I almost laughed at the astonished and devastated look on the other man's face. "B-b-but you NEVER come over to my house! And I invite you all the TIME! Damn that Greek asshole… What's he got that I don't?"

Kiku nervously held up his hands in a fail attempt to calm him down, his own face still ablaze with embarrassment. "H-he doesn't have something you don't…I… it was just curiosity."

Grinding his teeth in an effort to stay calm, fists clenched at his sides, he opened his mouth to say something else just as a miniature calico came out of thin air and started rubbing herself on me, purring frantically. Distracted momentarily, I stroked her, only to look up and find that whatever my enemy had said had been blocked out by the motorboat-like kitten. Dismayed, I tried hard to catch myself up on their words, but whatever he had said was detrimental to understanding, so I was completely lost. Kiku was saying something in response involving alcohol consumption… and… and… in frustration I looked back down at the cat, hoping her cute face would calm me, only to find that she had multiplied by about five.

Sitting there, staring up at me, were six tiny kittens, their round, yellow eyes aglow in the dark bush.

I raised an eyebrow and brushed a hand across all of them, smiling as they all started to mew and purr and rub themselves on me contentedly. They were so cute… Suddenly, I remembered the reason I was sitting here in a bush to begin with and shook my head, looking back out at the couple I had been spying on. Only to find empty space.

They were gone.

I grimaced down at the nearest kitty and picked it up, standing and brushing off the debris that had clung to my body. The rest of the clan hopped up on me and clung with their claws onto my clothes, one even making it to my head, as I began to trudge back home sadly.

"Eavesdropper!" yelled a voice directly behind me.

Stunned, I spun around, causing one cat to fly. In my face was a stubbly chinned, smelly, ugly jerk, jabbing his pointer finger into one of my pecks. I tried not to flinch back as his breath made contact with my nose. I had to stay standing tall and straight, otherwise he'd find a way to use it against me. Our eyes met and held menacingly, both of us sizing the other up furiously. It took all I had not to break away from the stare off and find where Kiku was so that I could greet him. But no… I had to win this. It was for the sake of my relationship with Kiku and if I stopped now… I would lose. Forever.

"Karpusi…" he hissed. "I hear you gave my friend your address. Mind telling me what that was about?"

I lowered my eyelids in an attempt to seem unconcerned by his obvious threats. "Is he your boyfriend?" I asked slowly, actually puzzled.

This ticked him off for some unknown reason and he grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling closer to my face than before. "You better watch it. We aren't at work; there's no reason for me not to punch your face in right now."

"I'll take that as a no." I knew my tone would anger him further, but I couldn't help it.

"U-Uh…" I heard Kiku somewhere close beside us. "What… Sadiq… Mr. Heracles… Can we just sit down and talk?"

My heart throbbed at the worry in his voice and I gave up on the testosterone battle, glancing over at his handsome, very unnerved face. Seeing the terror that we were going to start punching the guts out of each other at any moment illustrated so clearly on his face, I clawed at Sadiq's hands on me until he let go with a pained yelp and went over to him. Giving him a smile, I made a point of sitting down slowly on the ground and patting the spot next to me, indicating he should sit there. With a short, sideways glance at Sadiq, he actually did, surprising me.

"How long were you sitting in the bush?" Kiku asked, looking me in the eye sternly.

I shrugged and fell back, looking up at the dark sky, exhausted, as the cats crawled onto my stomach and settled there. "I heard you'd been to my house."

He started fidgeting again, sheepishly.

"Also… you said I was in danger."

This time he turned back to me, his hair waving gently in the light breeze. "Your home is unsafe for you. Though you may not be able to see it… and I understand if you can't. I suggest you move."

Starting to feel my long lack of nap, I yawned before asking, "How? I mean, how do you know it's unsafe for me there? I've lived there since I was born. It was given to me by my mother before she passed away when I was sixteen…"

"The…" He hesitated before continuing. "The aura surrounding it is dark, worrisome. I was taught how to read auras as a little boy by my father. Often, if a home is surrounded by a demonic aura, something terrible had occurred there. And demons feed off negative energy like that. So I'm concerned that if you let it get any worse, you'll be swarmed… If they gather enough energy, they could actually hurt you."

I was alarmed by the undertones of panic in his voice. Just as I was about to ask something else, I was interrupted by a booming laugh on the other side of Kiku.

"Hahaha! You actually BELIEVE in that crap? Things like that don't exist!" Sadiq gave a few more chuckles before his laughter died out and he abruptly turned serious again, glancing down at the smaller man beside him, giving him a pointed look and asking, quietly, "Do they, Kiku?"

The Japanese man's eyes widened and he gave a wobbly smile. "N-no, of course they don't… Not at all. Just Japanese tales…" But, I could tell when he glanced back over at me in concern, that these weren't just made up legends.

Just then, the wind picked up and howled, blowing everything around roughly as the rain began to pour. The cats, who had been so comfortable just moments before, were now shrieking and hissing, making a break for some form of shelter from the freezing droplets. I pulled my jacket around myself tighter, watching as Sadiq helped Kiku up and pulled him away, not running, but moving pretty quickly. It would be difficult to catch up, and I didn't even know if he wanted me to come. It wasn't until he looked behind him and motioned with his hand for me to hurry up that I took off through the sheets of rain, doing something that was a fairly rare occurrence when it came to me.

Running.

I reached the two of them, panting and gasping, as we came up to a tiny house, ornate with things that spoke of Japanese heritage. Kiku pulled a key out of his sleeve, opened the door swiftly, and ushered us inside, where we collapsed in his entryway, attempting to catch our breath. Our hair dripped steadily, the water that had soaked us through now sliding off our bodies and onto the floor messily. Kiku was the first to recover, mentioning something about getting towels before standing and leaving me alone with the hated Turk.

"Did you see that?" he questioned seriously. "I ran, like, ten times faster than you!"

I glared over at him, annoyed. Before I could say anything, Kiku showed up with two towels, one for each of us, and ushered us into the kitchen after we dried ourselves off. He got busy making tea, studiously ignoring the glowering that was going on behind his back. I decided, since I was tired of Sadiq's stupidity, to re-strike up the conversation that had gone on earlier, before it had begun raining.

"So, what other sorts of "legends" do the Japanese have?" I asked as he placed a steaming mug in front of me.

He took a moment before he spoke, sipping at his own tea gently before saying, "There are many others, but they all are centered around one thing; demons and the powers they behold. Of course, these are just wise tales, like I said, and nothing to be afraid of." More quietly, he added, "Wouldn't want to give them more food to grow from."

Intrigued, I stared at him, urging him with my eyes to go on. But he sat silently, wistfully thinking in silence as the rain continued to patter against the side of the house. It wasn't until I got up to go put my cup in the sink that he spoke again, following me over and grabbing the bottom of my shirt. Shocked, I looked down to see a pair of pleading chocolate eyes looking down at the floor with intensity, blush heavily accenting his features.

"You have to leave."

I looked at him in surprise, then through a window at the raging storm pointedly.

"No… Heracles, I don't want you to die. Leave the town as soon as the storm ends, and I won't have to… to… just…" He took a deep breath and looked up, his blush faded and gone, leaving behind a stark, pale white. "Please… go."


	3. Life Over Word

**Sorry, i would have had this one out sooner if i had had any internet yesterday! Snow is beautiful, espeically when you barely get to see it, but not when it knocks out your cable, phone, and internet connection! Yay for another snow day :D Read, review, enjoy peoples!**

We waited out the rest of the storm in awkward silence, the three of us sitting around in Kiku's living area. He had allowed Sadiq and me to shower and had given us extra clothes, so at least we weren't soaking and cold, but the complete lack of communication was a little unnerving. Instead of powering through it like the other two seemed determined to do, I decided to take the many naps I had missed and combine them into one huge one. So I curled up in a corner of the room and passed out, quickly falling into an easy sleep.

I woke up again, probably a few hours later, to the sound of quiet chatting. Actually, it sounded more like arguing. Intrigued, I listened in, not opening my eyes. It was Kiku and Sadiq, of course, but there was someone else, too. A vaguely familiar someone… but I couldn't quite place the voice… it was lightly feminine, but it also sounded somewhat boyish. There was definitely an accent clipping her/his words… It was until I heard the infuriated "Aru!" that I was completely sure who it was.

"Yao," Kiku was saying quietly. "It was an accident and I apologize. But he has no clue how much trouble he could be in and… I don't want him to die, especially not with me knowing I can do something for him."

Yao gave a small, irritated groan. "But it's a secret, aru! You gave your word! I thought it was worth more than THAT."

I had a strange, prickly feeling he was pointing at my sleeping body.

"_Hai,_ but saving someone's life is worth more than my word."

"Maybe it would be, if it wasn't HIS life," Sadiq growled. "He's so stupid that he doesn't even realize he's causing people problems."

Someone sighed and they all fell quiet, no one speaking a word. I decided to wait a little longer to "wake up" though, because I could feel that they weren't done. And I wanted to know what Sadiq meant by me causing problems, other than his obvious problem with me being alive.

"Well, Kiku, solve the problem as fast as you can. The quicker the better, because you don't want me to have to have a talk with Ivan, aru," Yao said, his voice sterner.

Sadiq gave an amused snort. "Yeah, like you won't have a "talk" with Ivan anyway."

Unamused, Yao grumbled, "Sadiq, I suggest you don't forget who your higher ups are, aru. Now, since our business talk is over… I should be getting back home. Don't forget Kiku; no more hinting him!"

I heard the door open and slam shut, Yao making his exit. With that, it was time for me to awake. I let my eyes flutter open tiredly and I turned towards them, very good at acting tired since I wasn't really acting at all. They were both staring at me as I sat up and stretched, something in me popping as I did.

"Hi," I said, standing lazily so that I would be on the same level as them.

"Good morning," Kiku answered, looking as small and gentle as ever. "Did you sleep well, Mr. Heracles?"

I nodded, absently wondering why it was he felt the need to put mister before my name, but no one else's. Sadiq gave me an evil grin, eyeing me up and down annoyingly. "Hmm… I wonder, Karpusi, if we ever actually got to finish our fight from earlier? I don't think we did."

"No… but how about we just say you won?" I suggested.

Instead of laughing and agreeing, of course he had to go on a pointless rampage. "What, you're just going to give up? What kind of a man are you?"

I smiled. "A Greek one."

Weirdly enough, that shut him up.

Enjoying the newly found quiet, I glanced over at the clock, nervous. It was almost time to feed my cats and the storm was still raging as strongly as it had been when I had drifted off. If I didn't get home soon… I shuttered, trying to push the thoughts of kitty cannibalism and my torn up furniture out of my head. I wasn't one to declaw my cats, so when they were angry… I needed to get home. Not to mention I had work in about half an hour.

Seeing the concern on my face, Kiku came up to me, holding out my old clothes. "I washed them for you. I know it's still storming, but you can keep the clothes I gave you and change back into these when you get home, if you would like."

"Thank you," I murmured as I took my clothes (which he had put in a see-through bag) and headed towards the door. "For everything." Just before I opened the door to leave, I glanced back and added, "And don't forget; come to my place anytime you like. The door's always open," much to the distress of Sadiq.

Pulling through the pouring rain and lightning was one of the hardest things I had ever done as I tried to resist the urge to make like a cat and sprint to the nearest shelter. But, if I wasn't home soon, my whole house would be a raging fur ball, so I pushed on, making it insidejust in time to have lightning strike less than ten feet away from me. Once I was in, I looked around in the dark, expecting many pairs of glowing eyes to greet my homecoming. Instead, there was only blackness. I tried to flip on the lights, but apparently the storm had taken my power, so I was forced to shove my way through the dark and into the kitchen to fill a huge bowl full of food and place it on the counter.

Starting to feel a little nervous, I clicked my tongue, waiting for one… ANY of my cats to show. After about a minute, I found a flashlight and starting walking through my house, calling out their names individually as I remembered them. Finally, as I reached the last name, my light shone on a pair of clear blue eyes staring back at me in terror.

"Jingle," I breathed in relief.

I took a slow step toward him, worried if I moved too fast that I would spook him more. He looked horrified enough already. But, as I neared him, he started hissing, bristling at me, claws at the ready. I paused, mid-step, and looked behind me, hoping maybe something was there to explain this behavior, but found nothing except for more pitch blackness. Was he… was he scared of ME? Sure, I had only picked him up yesterday, but he had seemed friendly enough then. Maybe some of the other cats had made him a bit wary? Not all of my cats were exactly tame, so it was possible.

I decided to crouch down closer to his level and click my tongue some more. "Here kitty," I whispered soothingly. "Come on, k-k-kitty."

He just stared, eyes wide and nervous.

"I'm not going to hurt you… where's the rest of the kitties?" I asked, just so he could hear the calmness of my tone. "Jingle?"

Suddenly, like a schizoid, he bolted, flying across the room and hiding somewhere that I couldn't see, hissing the whole way. Still confused, I stood and decide to get ready for work, that the cats could come out when they were ready to. They never really had liked storms, so they were most likely just hiding. In my room, it seemed to be even darker than it had been out in my living room. No light shone in from my closed blinds. Trying to shake off my growing jitters, I pulled my uniform out of the closet and placed it in the bag that Kiku had given me, deciding to change at work rather than here, so that my clothes wouldn't get wet.

With one final glance around, I took off into the street, driving to the restaurant as fast as I could without speeding. When I got in, it was obvious I was late. Everyone was there today; all those who had called in sick the day before were here, without so much as a sniffle. I suspected I had missed some inside secret ditch day or something, but I couldn't make myself care, especially not when Lovino was stalking up to me, looking angrier than he had yesterday, despite the Spaniard that was tailing him enthusiastically.

I couldn't really understand some of what he was saying, since he was speaking Italian, but I was sure that it wasn't good, especially when Feliciano popped his head around a corner and said, with a small frown, "That's not nice, _fratello…_" only to earn a snarl that caused him to squeal and get back to work.

"Where the hell have YOU been? Off sleeping in some fucking corner? Well, in case you haven't realized, work actually requires you to WORK! Now go clean some tables off, lazy bastard!" he yelled, throwing a washcloth at my face.

I caught it before it hit me and threw it across my shoulder, going to do as he so kindly had asked. As I walked away, I could hear Antonio's velvety, "My little Lovi, you're so cruel to everyone!" and smirked at the slapping noise that followed. Apparently, nothing could cure our manager's bad attitude today. Picking a table, I began to wipe it off, making sure it was nice and sparkly before moving to the next one.

The serving day was surprisingly long for the terrible weather. Apparently, the more it rained, the more customers came in, expecting us to work so they didn't have to. After getting yelled at a few more times for falling asleep, serving a thousand hungry, cranky people, and clearing their filthy messes, I was finally allowed to leave as Sadiq came in to take my shift yet again. All I could think as I left the restaurant was how much I hoped Kiku didn't decide to eat there again.

As I pulled into the driveway, I noticed something very weird. Every single light in my house was on. I knew I hadn't left them on seeing as I had had no power… curious, I entered the front door cautiously, only to find my wish had come true.

No, Kiku wouldn't be eating at the restaurant again tonight. He was sitting in my living room, content on my couch, snuggling with every single one of my cats.

I closed the door slowly and walked in, pulling off my wet jacket and padding into my bedroom so that I could change, somehow going unnoticed. Once I was in my house clothes, I went back out and into the living room, clearing my throat and causing him to jump.

"You came." I was a little shocked about the surprise in my own voice. Had I really expected him to blow me off?

He hesitated a minute before nodding. "Yes. I was… I couldn't stop thinking about just letting you leave, especially when I passed by your house and it appeared to be getting worse. I was already aware you had many cats, so… I came to save them. They appreciated it very much!" With a true smile, he stroked one kitten's ear, and it began purring happily.

I went over and sat next to him, pulling a few of the fluffy creature onto my own lap. "They like you," I stated bluntly.

"Well," he muttered, sounding embarrassed suddenly. "I must admit that… they looked hungry, so I fed them some tuna…"

I laughed. "That would make them like you more than me. I can't afford to feed them all tuna. I just let them go out and hunt, and, if they don't catch anything, I feed them dry food."

"No, they like you. Actually, they like you very much. You've taken good care of them all and they appreciate it," Kiku said, startling me. "They're just afraid. They can feel the atmosphere declining and can see the demonic presences."

I sat silent for a moment before asking, "Kiku, what causes demons to invade a person's house?"

He considered the question, looking at me and stroking my cats methodically. "Many things can… but the biggest reason is negativity. I can feel there was once terrible negativity in this house… do you know what that is?"

"My parents didn't get along all the time. Sometimes my dad did things to my mom… but it was when I was still too young to understand, so I'm not really sure what that was. They both died when I was still a kid, so I never figured it out."

His brow furrowed in deep concentration. "Anything else that you remember? A demon wouldn't stick around that long unless the abused person was still alive."

Sighing, I figured keeping things from him wouldn't help my cause now. "Well, it was a long time ago, so I can't remember much, but… I think my father… he might have abused me too."


	4. Mortal

**I'm always apologizing for how long it had been taking me to update, and today is no exception! Thank you for being patient, musical practice is getting long now that we've had so many snow days XP Another one today! Well, hope you like! Read, review, enjoy :)**

Kiku kept surprisingly calm for someone I had just confessed one of my secrets to. All he did was narrow his eyes a little and ask, "What sort of abuse do you mean?"

I fidgeted. Even though I had played this off as something I could barely remember, it was still clear in my mind. Ever since I had been about six, it had been my father's daily routine to wake up, do something to my mother that caused her to cry, have some alcohol, and then come after me when he was drunk. When he got to me… it just depended on his mood what he did. If he was just angry, he would beat me until he started laughing and then pull me down with a string of insults that had me wishing he had just chosen the other thing he did instead.

Instead of telling him all that though, I settled for the much less elaborate, "Every kind."

He closed his eyes, rubbing his temples slowly in a perfect circle, as if he were trying to see my future or something like that. "There's so many here… all the darkness is giving me a headache, especially after I asked you about your father. Do you hate him?"

Did I hate him? That wasn't a question I'd ever been asked before and I'd tried not to think about what happened at all, so… I didn't really have an answer prepared. And it would be difficult to say that I didn't despise him, even though I clearly should have. "I… don't remember him much," I told him, wanting to drop this.

I watched him as he started to look all around nervously, like there was something there that only I didn't seem to be able to see. Softly, he whispered, "I will help, but I have to get them to listen to me. Nobody wants me to help you when we have bigger things to do…"

I knew he wasn't really talking to me, but it made me remember when Yao, Sadiq, and Kiku had had that chat when they thought I was unconscious. I hadn't understood a word they'd said, but had gathered that they all seemed to be a part of the same group, one that someone named Ivan was the head of. A ghost fighting cult? I could see Sadiq doing something that weird…but didn't really seem like something someone as shy as Kiku would be in. Yao was questionable since I had only met him one time when he'd come into the restaurant looking for Lovino.

"Bigger things?" I asked, making sure my voice was perfectly curious.

He seemed to realize what he had muttered a little too late, and looked over at the clock, checking the time as an excuse not to meet my eyes and to probably come up with a reason to leave. Not that it wasn't really late; it was almost midnight now. Maybe he really did have something to take care of at home… like that dog he had. But I didn't want him to go. Even I could tell that when he was around, the darkness was lessened by a good amount. It was like he kept it bay. If he left, there would be no more light for me.

"It's getting late, I really should…" he started.

I interrupted him, trying to not to sound overly hopeful. "Well, you can stay in my guest bedroom. If you would like to."

He was taken aback by the offer and stumbled on his words. "Well… I suppose that… I do need to…" With a deep breath, he tried again. "That would be nice, thank you."

Now it was my turn to be surprised by him. I hadn't expected him to agree to stay with me at all, but yet here he was, saying he would. Wordlessly, I got up and showed him to the extra room that hadn't been used since I had inherited the place. The bed was perfectly made and there wasn't a speck of dust on anything, not because I had cleaned it, but because my mother had always kept it sparkly clean and when she had died, no dust dared to form on anything I owned. I felt a little nervous letting him in here, since this was actually my parent's old room, but it was Kiku, so… I was sure he would respect everything.

The cats had followed us in and made a huge clump on the bed as I showed him around the room, explaining all the pictures and small things I had collected in here. They were of my mom, mostly, and me. My dad was in a small few of them, from before he had gone crazy. We actually looked like a happy family in one of them, a family picture right when I had just learned to walk. There were no dark circles under my mother's eyes, no fury in my father's expression, no bruises on my sweet, innocent face. It was the calm before the storm I had never seen coming.

Kiku cleared his throat. I looked up from the photo, not realizing that I had gotten lost in it until I saw the worry on the Japanese man's face. His eyes were dark, concerned, and he had put a hand on my shoulder that I barely could feel. Sighing, I put the frame back down onto the dresser I had taken it off of and glanced back at him, feeling a little strange. Maybe I was getting that "flu" that everyone else at work had gotten. Or maybe it was the fact that he was touching me.

I resisted the urge to take his hand in mine and pull him into me. Instead, I just headed toward the door, giving him a smile. "Goodnight."

His face turned red and he turned away shyly, murmuring, "Goodnight," before I left and headed to my own room, a few of the cats following me out.

"You did WHAT?"

I opened my eyes slowly, groggily, the loud, booming voice echoing through my house and waking me up. That certainly hadn't been Kiku. In fact, it had actually sounded like… There was a chorus of "shhs!" and I knew there was way more people in my house right now than there had been when I had gone to bed. Concerned, I shot up and pulled on some pants, hoping that it wasn't a burglar or something that I might have to fight. Sneakily, I crept into the hall, avoiding all the squeaky floorboards perfectly as I found my way over to the room I had left Kiku in.

It was immediately clear to me that the voices were coming from his room.

"Damn it, Kiku! Now we're going to have to get Ivan involved, all just because you, for some reason, feel it's okay to tell that idiot everything!"

Yeah, that was definitely Sadiq.

"I'm doing what I feel is right, regardless of what you all might believe," Kiku sighed, the headache clear in the tone of his voice.

"Pfft, yeah, only because you're in love with him," Sadiq growled furiously, his voice full of stabbing accusation.

The room was quiet for a moment. Then, there was a tentative, unbelievable, "No, I'm not…" from Kiku's part, and the whole room erupted in so much noise, it was impossible to distinguish voices.

I thought I could depict Yao in there, which made sense, but I also could have sworn there were some of my co-worker's yelling along with everyone. It sounded like… well, everyone who had been sick that day… Maybe they had missed that day because of a cult meeting? But then why had Sadiq shown up at work? And I was faintly sure that Lovino was involved, but he had been at work too. It didn't make any sense in my head, no matter how many different ways I looked at it.

"Can we just GET BACK TO THE ISSUE AT HAND?" an unfamiliar, loud voice boomed in the best whisper he could manage.

He had sort of sounded German.

"Right, aru! Kiku has started betraying us! It won't be long until he tells Heracles and messes everything up," Yao stated, sounding grumpy.

Kiku interjected, his voice as soft and polite as ever. "But I won't betray you. I just want to help Heracles with the demons as quickly as I can and move on. If I accidentally say too much, we can just have Ivan erase his memory."

"You'd be willing to risk all of his memories for the sake of ridding him of demons, aru? You know that Ivan won't just take out his memories of us. And besides, getting rid of demons takes years! If you don't get rid of them properly, they just come back angrier! You'll have to make Heracles face his innermost demons by himself, which means you'll have to TELL him about us, aru! Telling a mortal is against Ivan's rules! You'll be betraying us for the sake of one man."

I froze in my spot on the wall. Telling a mortal? What did that mean? Was that implying that…THEY weren't humans?

"_Hai, _I'm aware of this. But you've all been lucky; everyone you care about is part of the group and not mortals. None of you have ever had to think about saving them from demons, because we don't HAVE demons."

Sadiq laughed. "The perks of not being human! Look, if you just let him deal with this crap himself, I'm sure he'll be fine. Besides, it's strictly against Ivan's rules to date mortals anyway, so why don't you give up on Karpusi?"

"I-I don't want to date him, I want to save his life! He can't deal with this himself, because it has gotten so bad that if I leave, the demons will kill him! That is the only reason I agreed to stay the night here. I can't just leave him here to die, like I've said, because… there's something different about him. And I need to figure out what that is before it's too late. What if he… is it possible for him to be one of us but not know it?" Kiku's voice was uncertain, unnerved, and worried.

Was this really all my fault?

"Not unless he can see the demons that are attacking him," said the unfamiliar German voice.

I could hear a rumble of disapproval from the crowd of people, as if me being one of them was entirely unwanted and an annoying thought. I pressed in closer to the wall, trying to hear better what some of them were saying, but getting no words in particular. Just as Kiku started to talk again, explaining that I couldn't, but may be something other than what they were, I felt a small pressure against my leg and almost cried out. Peering through the darkness up at me was Jingle, rubbing against me and purring his motorboat purr. It seemed louder than usual in this quiet hallway, and I prayed that they wouldn't be able to hear it in the room.

Dashing my hopes, everyone fell silent. I took a hesitant step back into the shadows, wondering if I'd be able to make a break for it, when the door opened and Kiku stepped out, picked up Jingle, looked pointedly at me, and re-entered the room. It was clear what his eyes had been saying. _Don't move a muscle; stay here._ He wanted me to listen to what they were saying.

"Look, aru, there's only one way to determine whether he is or isn't one of us, or something else supernatural. That's calling Ivan in!" Yao explained, rather forcefully.

"Again with the Ivan business…" Sadiq muttered, to which I was sure he earned a death glare from the Chinese man in the room.

Kiku made a small noise before asking, "If Ivan came and Heracles was, indeed, a human, what would he do to him?"

For about the fiftieth time, the room quieted. The German was the one to break the silence this time.

"That's easy enough. He'd kill you both on the spot."


	5. Ivan

**Sorry it took so long XP Thanks for reading and reviewing! :) smiley!**

Kill… us? It was obvious why he would kill me, because it was clear that any mortal knowing of this… thing was against the rules. And I was obviously human. But the other person… were they talking only about Kiku? Well, it was true that he was the only one trying to save my life by risking his own to tell me everything he had. So it was pretty much safe to assume that calling in Ivan would kill the two of us on the spot. I wondered what Kiku's face looked like right now, after being told something like that.

"L-Ludwig… are you absolutely certain of that?" Kiku asked, trying to keep his calm and failing as his voice quivered.

I heard a deep grunt of confirmation."Unfortunately, I am. As one of Ivan's right hand men, I've been there for many of his killings, particularly ones where his followers have had relations with mortals."

His voice high, Kiku interjected quickly, "But we aren't having relations!"

"Regardless." Ludwig's voice was stern, serious. "You've been with him, telling him top secret information. We've all gathered here to find a solution to this that doesn't involve anyone losing their life, so we will not be calling in Ivan unless I am convinced it is absolutely necessary."

I felt certain that this last comment was directed towards Yao.

"But… I can't leave. Otherwise someone will lose their life. The only way to save him is to tell him or bring Ivan to find out why Heracles seems… different to me." He sounded miserable.

"Alright… we'll have a vote on it then. All those for Kiku staying and possibly telling Heracles what we are, go in that corner! All those for calling in Ivan to deal with this, go to the opposite corner!"

There was the sound of feet shuffling across the floor as everyone decided the fates of both me and my Japanese friend. After a moment, it was clear everyone had finished choosing sides. The room was full of uncomfortable whispering as Ludwig counted up both sides quickly. My heart skipped a beat as I nervously waited his announcement of the winner.

After he had counted and recounted about a thousand times, causing everyone to get grouchy from the anticipation, his footsteps stopped, right in front of the door, and everyone quieted to hear what he had found out.

"It… is a tie," he declared.

There was a lot of angry mumbling before I heard Lovino yell, typically, "Then why don't you give your vote, you damn potato bastard?"

Apparently not having anything against the suggestion, he walked over to a side, taking the winning vote. Again, there was a certain tangible nervousness from the group that had my heart clenching in stress, especially when he finally picked his choice. There were a few more whispers, some sounding pleased, others sounded terrified out of their minds.

"Then it's decided. Yao, you may go and ask Ivan to come here. The rest of you may leave. This meeting is adjourned. By tomorrow, Heracles will no longer be a problem to us."

Feeling more tired than Ludwig sounded, I determined that now, it would probably be in my best interest to go back to my room before Ivan showed up to kill me. It was a shame that I would never get to spend a real night with Kiku seeping beside me, curled up with my cats, both of us contentedly dreaming. I could imagine his sleeping face; thick lashes framing his closed eyes, eyebrows furrowed as he saw something that nobody else could, his dark hair strewn across the pillow and haphazardly on his face… Something that I would never get to see now. All I could do was imagine as I walked slowly back to my room, carelessly forgetting to avoid the squeaky floorboards again.

I crawled back into my bed, ready to crash, when I was made aware that I wasn't alone by the self conscious clearing of a throat. I froze in my spot, only my eyes moving as I looked up to see the intruder. I let out the breath that I had been holding and sat up, watching as his dark eyes followed my every movement. How had he gotten from his room to mine so fast?

"Kiku?" I had to make sure.

"You heard it all, didn't you? You heard what they've decided to do? Calling in Ivan will either be the greatest thing we can do for you or the worst possible way to end it. I'm trusting my instinct; I just hope it won't fail us both."

In the darkness, he almost appeared to be glowing, his pale skin lightened by the moonshine slipping through my half-closed blinds. "What are you?" I wondered, the inhumanness of the moment reminding me I had no idea.

It was obvious he was unsure about whether this was something he could tell me, though I was probably about to die anyway. "I… I won't tell you outright, but I'll tell you what it is we do. We fight demons and even greater dark forces than that. We bring light, though commonly, we are not thought to do good things. And not all of us have the same purpose. We just happen to be the ones who all believe the same thing; that we were put where we were to help instead of hurt."

If they were sent to help and not hurt, then why was their cult leader coming to my house to kill me right now? The whole situation was a huge riddle. He was desperately trying to give me hints so I wouldn't die not knowing who he was, but I had no clue about supernatural creatures. His words were lost on me.

"Well, if I start guessing, will you tell me when I'm right?" I asked.

"I'll tell you when you're wrong," he promised.

"One more question before we start… how'd you get to my room so fast? Isn't Ludwig looking for you now?"

A small smile played at his lips and he shook his head. "He left to go with Yao. It'll take them a few hours to get back. You must have been gone for that part. Then I just simply walked around you in the hall. You were immersed in your own thoughts, so I left you alone."

I started in surprise. Had he really just WALKED by me? Without me noticing? Well I HAD been imagining his sleeping face… "Ghost."

He shook his head slightly.

"Witch."

"I believe that boys are wizards, but no."

I set my jaw in determination. "Werewolf. Vampire. Gnome. Fairy. Pixie. Elf. Warlock."

"None of those. Thankfully, I am not a gnome."

Squidging my eyebrows, I asked, "Those exist?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "I'm not certain that they do or don't."

I stared at him hard, really trying to use my imagination to figure this out. I had already run out of creatures to guess, though I was sure there were many more. Maybe if I looked long enough… They were the opposite of demons… they brought light… If Kiku was something other than a human, he would be… Suddenly I shot up out of bed and over to him, not really thinking about what I was doing as I grabbed the back of his shirt and peered down at his back. Nothing. Disappointed, I let him go and sat back down.

When I went back to staring at him, he was flushed and sputtering crazily, holding his shirt to himself. "Wh-wh-why would you do that?" he cried, clearly embarrassed.

"Well… I was thinking that since you seem like such an angel that maybe you could really be one."

Somehow, he made it possible to turn even redder, almost tomato colored. "B-but why did you have to… look down my shirt?"

Oops. I'd scared him. "I just… Angels have wings."

"Not all the time," he murmured looking down, still flustered. "Only when they aren't in their mortal form."

For a moment, the breath wouldn't move through my lungs. Did that mean…? Had I finally guessed right? "So you're… you're a…"

He looked back up, a strange sort of sorrow on his face. "I had hoped you would be too. There are angels who have lost their memories of Heaven... so that was what I originally thought you were, but Ludwig made a valid point. Even if you were one of us and didn't realize, you'd still be able to see the demons. But, if you aren't one of us… then what are you?"

"I'm just human." It was sad but true.

"It is a possibility," he admitted, finally relaxing enough to sit by me on the bed. "But I don't want to believe it. It doesn't seem true. Or maybe I just don't want it to be…"

I put a hand on his shoulder, meaning the gesture to be comforting. "No matter what I am, I'll deal with the consequences…"When his face fell even more, I decided a change of subject would be the best move at this point. "So are there different kinds of angels?"

His eyes shifted back over to, the topic moving around a little too quick for him. "Well, yes. There are quite a few. Most commonly, my type are known as dark angels, but we like to call ourselves warriors, or God's Fighters. There are some angels who never fight, like the young and elderly. Our ranks are distinguished by the color of our wings, with the non-fighters in white and the others in black, which is why we are known as dark angels."

"So… are you dead, then?" I couldn't help but ask. Angels were dead people's souls, weren't they?

He laughed, to my surprise. "No, of course not. We die once and then are reincarnated into more human bodies if need be. So I'm technically just a human with powers."

That meant that almost everyone I had worked with and known were just reincarnations of people who had lived in the past, sent back to Earth to kill demons. It was pretty hard to imagine any of them as angels, particularly Sadiq and Lovino. How could heavenly creatures be so… like that? I shook my head, all this information at once a little hard to digest. When I had been in school, I had taken a nap after every lecture so that I would be able to remember and retain the information I had received and be ready to learn more the next class, so it made sense that his explanation had me yawning and laying back, my eyes shutting slowly as the silence loomed between us.

"He is asleep, da?"

"_Hai, _he has been for about an hour now."

The two voices shot up out of the silence, the unfamiliar one sending shivers down my spine. It was high and creepy, reminding me of a church bell's toll as it called in the people for a funeral. Of course, the other was Kiku's calming tenor, answering the other man. Thankfully, nobody else seemed to be around.

"Mmmm… I'll do it before he wakes up. Wouldn't want him to suffer too much!" said the bone chillingly happy man's voice.

"A-are you sure that this is absolutely necessary, sir? Is there no other way?" Kiku's tone was starting to rise in panic.

I heard a heavy foot hit the floor as the Russian man came closer. "It'll be quick and easy!"

Was he… was he going to kill me? Had he already determined that I was a mortal while I was unconscious? My heartbeat increased in tempo involuntarily as he came closer and closer, his weight causing the floorboards in my room to squeal and groan, like they were screaming for me to run while I still could. But even I knew it would be foolish to run from an angel. There was no way I would win, especially since running wasn't a common practice of mine. So I would have to accept death… Deciding in a split second, I opened my eyes to watch. It didn't really make sense to want to watch him kill me, but… at least I'd get to see Kiku as it happened.

His eyes were wider than I was sure mine were, almost black in their displeasure as he watched the man that I assumed was Ivan raise a sword over me. My first impression of him was that he was a little bit cuter than I had expected… almost like a kitty… only his nose was big. His eyes were a pretty purple and flashed with a chilling ice as he watched me wake up before he had the chance to slice into my body. I blew out a breath, watching as he pulled back, his smile causing more shivers to run through me, gaze never leaving my body.

"You're awake." Kiku's statement was blunt, but full of more relief than I had ever heard.

Did he really expect me to have a better chance awake?

Despite my rising, Ivan's smile never faded, not even as he said, his accent thick, "Sad. Now it will have to hurt even more when I plunge the sword into your heart."


	6. After All

**Thank you for your patience with me everyone! I'm trying really hard not to let my after school stuff get in the way of my writing, but sad face, it isn't working well. But! The musical will be over next week and i'll be ready to write often! Hmm, ironic that the muscial is Grease... anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing :) Enjoy!**

I could do nothing but stare at the people in front of me as I tried to register the situation. Kiku had seemed relieved that I had woken up…. Right? But Ivan had still said he was going to plunge a sword into my heart, and he looked ready to do so at any given moment, eyes gleaming sadistically as he raked them over me, smiling joyfully. My instinct was screaming for me to move, to protect Kiku even though he wasn't in any danger from this man unless I really was a human. Which… well the long black blade that was reflecting the moonlight said it all. But if I moved, it was possible that that would make it worse.

"Kiku…" I breathed, taking in every inch of his face as he watched me with a sorrowful expression. "I'm sorry."

He seemed surprised to hear me say that. "Why are you apologizing?" he asked, looking as if he wanted to come over to me, but not moving due to Ivan's overbearing presence.

Now it was my turned to be a little thrown off. "But… I'm a human, right?"

"We don't kn-" Kiku started softly, before he was interrupted by the other man's cool, creepy voice.

"This will be telling us!" He extended the sword out until the point was right over my heart, cocking his head to the side as it tore through my shirt and cut my skin, his wild eyes following as a drip of blood rolled down the blade. "It reads mortality. If I stab this through your heart and you are still breathing, then you are not human!"

Now it made sense. Ludwig had said that I would die. To tell if I was a human, Ivan was going to shove a sword through my heart, which was a blow that would kill any mortal right from the beginning. If I was… something else… I would be able to recover. My heart started throbbing as he pressed the blade deeper, causing more blood to spurt out as I flinched from the pain. Pulling in a pained breath, I turned back to Kiku, who had paled the second Ivan had pierced into me. I wouldn't take my eyes off of him until I was dead, gone off to wherever it was soul's went after they had no bodies.

He continued to slowly shove the weapon into my chest, grinning manically when I was no longer able to stay quiet. I gave a low moan, trying to keep on staring at the Japanese man across the room to lessen the pain. Tears were starting to form in Kiku's eyes as he was forced to watch this. At least it would all be over soon. I wanted to tell him that it would be okay, that since he was an angel, if he was killed, he would just go back to Heaven where he belonged. That I would join him there if I could. I kept my eyes wide and open until I could take it no more, until the blade was in several inches, only closing them when I was sure I could no longer see. But I would always be able to visualize Kiku, even behind closed lids.

I was aware that vision was one of the first things to go when you were dying, and that hearing would come soon after. I still had one last chance to hear myself say the words I had been wanting to. I opened my mouth, meaning to tell him how I felt, only to have a sudden flow of blood rush into it, cutting off any words I had hoped to say and causing me to choke violently. I could tell my hearing was slipping away when Ivan's laughing started wavering, that any minute now I would be gone. Sure enough, just seconds later, the last thing my ears picked up was Kiku's sharp intake of breath. Then the blackness came, lulling me to sleep, just like any other nap. I couldn't even feel the pain anymore. I knew it was over now, that I was just a spirit roaming aimlessly.

I had been a human after all.

* * *

I didn't know how much time had passed since I had last seen his face. I had stopped being able to visualize it the moment I had died. I had no brain; I couldn't think. Yet… here he was, looking me in the face, his eyes as dark and beautiful as onyx as he lay down next to me, blushing all the way to his neck. I couldn't imagine what was embarrassing him that much. Had I said something to him? I turned myself over to see him more clearly, stunned to find how close he was. I called his name, softly, wishfully, and I found him actually looking at me. He was still red, but he seemed more than happy that I was talking to him.

"Heracles…" And, just like that, he started crying again, the tears rolling silently down his face.

I reached out and wiped them off his cheeks, resisting the urge to comfort him with a kiss. I started to withdraw my hand, to put it back where it belonged before I could do anything he didn't want, but it never got that far. Surprising me, he took it in his own, lacing our fingers together and pulling me closer to him, in a way I had never suspected he could. Maybe this was just my imagination acting up.

"You're alive," he whispered into my chest, which was now unmarked. "You passed Ivan's test. You're one of us."

It was definitely my imagination. But I decided to play along with my dream Kiku's words. "What do you mean? I'm an angel?"

He gave a small nod, pulling away so that we could talk properly. "_Hai,_ but not like me. You're not a dark angel." As if to emphasize his point, he extended out a set of raven black, feathered wings that gleamed in a light that I couldn't see. "Look for yourself," he whispered, reaching out and stroking an appendage I hadn't realized I'd had until his touch sent shivers through me.

Nervous for some reason, I copied his movement and let my wings go. I could feel their power, the muscles in my shoulders taut to support them. I turned and was unable to keep my hands from running down their downy surface, which was a white as unmarked and perfect as winter snow. I found myself speechless, even as I turned back to Kiku, who was finally relaxing.

"So you were an angel who'd lost his memory of Heaven after all. And since you aren't a warrior, it makes sense that you couldn't see the demons attacking you, although as to HOW they were, I haven't a clue yet." He gave me a small, shy smile. "I knew you weren't a human."

All kinds of questions were milling around in my head, but it was almost as if I was cursed. I couldn't open my mouth even a little bit. Sending the Japanese man in front of me signals with my eyes, I tried to tell him. But instead of helping me or seeming worried, he just stood up and started walking away, not even turning back once as he purposefully walked away from me, leaving me all alone in a hurry. Defeated, I sank back to the ground where Kiku and I had been sitting together and was surprised to feel wetness seeping down my face and onto the floor, where it rippled like water.

* * *

"He's still breathing? Jeez, and here I thought he'd be dead in, like, two seconds! Damn, that means he's not a human!"

"Sadiq…"

I couldn't believe how exhausted Kiku sounded.

Kiku?

My eyes shot open and I unthinkingly grabbed out for him, barely registering the knife-like sharpness of pain that stabbed in my chest.

"Whoa, what the…?" Sadiq exclaimed as I accidentally latched onto him, missing my actual target by a good foot.

Stunned by my own move, it took a moment to register what had happened before I released the stunned Turk and sat back in the bed I was laying in, determined not to cling to Kiku like that. So that weird scene had been a dream after all. The worry in my heart melted away easily as I turned and saw that, once again, Kiku was watching me, his eyes full of relief, a smile even playing at his lips as he came over. I felt nervous again, unsure what he was going to do, but he stunned me, pulling me into an unexpected hug, just like he had in the nightmare. The only difference was that I knew this one was real.

"Oh, yay, now that he's awake we can get all lovey-dovey," Sadiq growled, crossing his arms and glaring at me.

In retaliation, I gave him a sly smile and hugged Kiku back, pulling him closer into me, even risking running my fingers through the smaller man's silky black hair.

Sadiq made a noise in the back of his throat, one that sounded like a mixture of disbelief and fury. "Wh-what? You've never even let me HUG you, Kiku!"

Kiku, who had seemingly been lost in the moment, suddenly reddened and turned to him, keeping his arms around me. "I-I…"

"He likes me better," I said seriously.

That seemed to drive him crazy with jealousy, before he composed himself again and, with one more infuriated glare for me, he stalked out of the room, slamming the door. It was only then that I realized I wasn't home anymore. This wasn't my bedroom. I was in something that was very similar in style to a hospital room.

"I'm sorry…" Kiku muttered, flushing and trying to pull away from me. "I…I was just very happy that you're okay…"

I caught his arms before he could release me. "Don't be sorry," I said quietly. "I love you."

If he had been red before, he was on fire now. "Y-you can't mean that! It must be the medicine talking…"

"It's what I was trying to say before the blood cut me off," I insisted. "It isn't the medicine."

He started shaking his head. "B-but we've only known each other for a few days…"

"I knew it when we ran into each other at the pet store."

For a moment, he was quiet. Then, after awhile, he asked, "Are you certain you aren't mistaken? Love isn't something that happens instantly; it takes time."

I took his words to heart, realizing what they meant. He didn't feel the same way about me. I tried not to let that effect me as I told him, "I'm not mistaken. I know that I love you." Then, making it quick so it wouldn't be so painful, I added, "If you don't feel the same, I'll leave you alone. I won't say it again."

I could tell I had confused him by the way he started stuttering immediately and pulled away from me. I let him this time, letting him decide for himself what to do now. No matter how much it hurt me to watch him stumble over his feelings for me, I wasn't going to force anything on him.

"I…I d-" he started, right when the door slammed open.

We both turned in surprise, finding a happily waving Feliciano standing there with an infuriated looking Ludwig.

"Ivan has ordered you two to join us for breakfast," said the German man, before grabbing the Italian's hand and pulling him away, letting the door fall shut behind them.

Kiku's eyebrow's furrowed in concern. "He's never called us all to eat together. We had better go quickly. Do you feel as if you can stand?"

I nodded, even though I felt like the exact opposite. Hurriedly, I pulled myself up and out of the bed, wincing as my feet hit the cold floor, sending a bout of pain through me. With all the strength I could muster, I pulled myself up, standing easily. Yes, I had healed and was alive, but I still had a gaping hole in my chest. I took a deep breath and smiled over at Kiku, walking toward the door and trying not to let it show how much pain this really caused me. Right as I grasped the knob and turned it, I heard a small whisper from beside me.

"What?" I asked, turning to find Kiku was looking down again, his hair covering his flushed face.

"I s-said that I do. L-like you. Very much."

Gratefully, I smiled down at him and pulled him back into my arms, not caring whether his words had meant that he loved me or not. Happier than I had felt in a long time, I took the chance of losing him forever and pressed my lips against his, letting the love I felt for him show.


	7. Gupta

**HELLLLLLLO EVERYBODY! It's good to be back! The musical is over and I'm ready to keep on writing! Also, i have a perfect excuse for not getting this done sooner, and that is because my parents suddenly decided i needed parental blocks... and guess what site it took away? You guessed it; this one! So i haven't been able to post my writing, which has left me quite down in the dumps for a bit. But I've gotten it all figured out now, and would ust like to say I am very sorry :) Please don't let my life stop you from reading! Read, review, enjoy everyone!**

He stiffened rigidly in my arms, gently but forcefully pushing me away, gasping, "I-I… we should get to the table before Ivan gets angry."

Pulling away, he practically shoved me aside to open the door, and then strode down the hallway in long strides, obviously embarrassed. His rejection was more stunning than painful, because I knew that he was shy. He wasn't ready for this; after all, he was right when he said we had only just met. For some, it took longer to fall than others. But I was pretty sure if I gave him some time, he'd start to feel it too.

Dropping the whole subject out of my mind completely, not really caring to think about it right now, I followed Kiku down a long hallway, trying to drag my eyes away from his amusing swagger. Unfortunately, the task was completely hopeless… he had an effeminate strut that drew my attention from everything else. I was so enticed that I barely even registered it when one of the doors that lined the corridor flew open, just inches away from smashing my nose into my skull.

I froze, completely shocked from my near-death experience, and could only watch in confusion as a man I had never met before stepped out, wearing a white keffiyeh and a weird, flowing robe that made him seem out of place in this century. He glanced over at me for a second, seemingly as taken aback as I was, before muttering a quick, "Sorry," and continuing off. I watched him curiously as he stormed passed Kiku in a strangely hurried fashion before disappearing down another hall.

Lazily, I loped back over to Kiku, who had apparently never noticed that I'd been gone. With one quick, final glance over his shoulder to confirm I was still beside him, he led me the rest of the way, finally opening one very large set of redwood double doors that led into a massive dining room, already full of people that I recognized, though nobody was eating. There was no sign of Ivan or that strange man who had been lurking through the halls. Quickly, Kiku found us two open seats and we sat down, waiting anxiously for the meeting to start, just like the rest of the group.

"Way to show up late, Karpusi," Sadiq sneered from across the table. "You guys missed breakfast and everything! It was delicious, too."

It was amazing how I hadn't even noticed him sitting there until he said something rude.

I saw Kiku frown out of the corner of my eye. "We've… missed breakfast? But in order for that to be true, everyone would be gone, because we were called by Ivan to EAT breakfast," he stated, sounding genuinely confused.

This stopped the harassment from the Turk almost instantly. "I was just kidding! Sheesh. Anyway, what do you think this meeting thing is going to be about? Ivan's never called us in like this before." He put his head in his hand, playing with a fork, bored.

"I have a bad feeling that I know," Kiku stated, his eyes twitching nervously over to me. "I just hope that I'm wrong."

Just as Sadiq began to question what had been said, the doors open with the loudest creak I had ever heard a door make before. I was even fairly certain they hadn't creaked when Kiku had opened them. It made the entrance of their leader all the more terrifying to me as he came in, that same perpetual smile plastered on his face that he had had when he was sliding a sword through me, as if I were nothing but a piece of meat. Next to him, to my surprise, was the man from the hallway, his expression stoic as his brown eyes skewered the group of us. The minute they entered the room, everyone was on their feet, a sign of respect.

Calling his followers off with a slight nod of his head, Ivan said, "I will get straight to the point. There are two reasons I called you all here to breakfast, and they are standing next to me and sitting right there! Today we will be deciding the fates of the two newest members of our organization. Whether they are fitting to be among us…" he gave a slight pause, grinning in the weird man's direction, "Or whether they need to be going bye-bye!"

Did I imagine that his cold purple eyes were fixated directly on me?

Suddenly feeling goosebumps rising on my arms, I whispered to Kiku, "Did you ever find out what I was?"

Paling, Kiku's vigor seemed to die down. "_Hai, _I did. But that is the reason you've been called out, just as Gupta has. You see… both of you survived through the sword, but… neither of you are supernatural. You are humans with determination to live beyond any other mortals, as far as we are able to tell. Unless, of course, there is some sort of creature alive that doesn't exist even to the sword. Then it would make much more sense… But as for now, neither of you are one of us."

As his words sank in, I felt my stomach roll. So my dream had been just that; a dream. I wasn't an angel with feathers as pure as winter snow. I was just a simple human, one who stood almost no chance of making it out of wherever I was alive. Suppressing a sigh, I tuned back into the Russian leader's words just in time to hear him call me up to the front. Slowly but surely, I made my way up there, until I was standing next to Gupta. With everyone's eyes on me, I felt my heartbeat pick up and my mind resorted to imagining everyone as fluffy kittens to block out the terror of the moment.

"I will give you each a vote; _da _or _niet, s_tarting with Ludwig and going clockwise. Okay~, begin!"

The German's eyes were fierce as he said, with no wavering in his voice, "I vote no."

Next to him, of course, was Feliciano, who gave us both a carless smile and said, "_Ve~, _stay and eat pasta~!"

After a few other various responses, I was shocked into oblivion when we reached Sadiq, who I had convinced myself was a definite no, and I heard him utter the words, "I think they should stay."

By the time we had reached the end of the table, the votes were even. There was just one person left; that was the leader himself. I swallowed and forced myself to imagine what life would have been like if Kiku and I had met through normal circumstances. As easy as it had been before, probably. But then I would have had more time to let him adjust to me, the way I behaved, instead of just pulling him into a sudden kiss like that. Now that I was certain death was looming over my head, with the final vote depending on what Ivan desired, I didn't regret doing it in the least. Maybe, with the remainder of my life being so short, I would get to hear him say that he loved me before my heart was silence for real.

Was it too much to hope for?

Sucking in a breath, I was determined to make sure I didn't die unsatisfied with what my life had been. Just as I was planning out how to get the words out of him, I heard Ivan's voice over the cacophony in my own brain.

"_Da, _they will be staying here with us. Now, let us eat the breakfast that Francis has made for us to celebrate! You two," he said, looking over at us, his eyes amused, "Take a seat."

We both found our way to our seats, me going back to where I had been and Gupta taking the seat next to Sadiq, because the Turk had just punched the guy sitting next to him to make room. Kiku looked more relieved than I had seen him in awhile, almost cheerfully digging into his food, while still remaining a perfectly subtle Japanese gentleman. So I would have more time. Until Ivan bored of playing with me, just a simple ball of string for him to bat at.

The food was delicious, the best I had tasted in a long time. Or maybe it was just the fact that, for the first time in years, I wasn't eating my food alone. Either way, I enjoyed myself immensely, even smiling when I felt that the moment called for it, instead of staring impassively at everyone like I tended to. And, as an added bonus, Sadiq was, for once, not trying to pick a fight with me OR hit on Kiku. He seemed overly preoccupied with amusing the newest addition to the team, who, sadly, seemed rather annoyed by the man next to him. There was a certain essence to the way he was smiling at Gupta that reminded me of once, when I had just hit puberty and suddenly, girls were battering each other for my attention. His smile was exactly like the ones they had given me.

I wondered if I ever made that face at Kiku… Detachedly, I looked down to the man at my side, who had been caught up in a conversation with someone else until this moment. He looked up just in time for our eyes to meet, and I felt my heart throb, but there was no movement in my face whatsoever. I was surprised to feel warmth spread through me at this discovery. Was testosterone really making me feel joy that I didn't flirt with Kiku like a teenage girl? I shook the thought away, deciding now was a good moment to concentrate on the issues at hand.

"Do I ever get to go back home?" I asked when we were cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen.

He was quiet for awhile, but then, just as I was about to ask again, he said, "You may… but there's a reason that Ivan decided to keep you. And since he did, he'll most likely be giving you orders that he expects you to follow. As part of this team, you'll fight alongside the rest of us, whether spiritually or directly, I'm not certain. Or… it's possible that Ivan will use both you and Gupta as his personnel attendants. It happened once, long ago. But that human lived the full extent of his life, so I'm positive that, no matter what happens, you will be fine."

He didn't sound very positive about it, but I let it slide anyway. When we had finished and all the dishes were sparkling, we made our way to what was referred to as "the assignment room" by all the angels. It made sense that this was where they were issued orders to go fight the demons that haunted people on earth so heavily. Ivan was, again, the center of everyone's attention as he stood in the front and told everyone, each in a pair, where they were to go. By the time everyone else had been sent off, Kiku being paired with Sadiq, both the Egyptian man and I were staring straight into the eyes of what I would have sworn was Satan himself if he didn't have a pair of raven black wings exuding from his broad back.

"You may go home," he stated bluntly. "I have no use for you now. But don't be surprised if you find me or one of my soldiers tapping on your window in the dead of night."

With that creepy final parting note, he snapped and I was back home, laying in my bed, surrounded by my cats.

I blinked a few times, disoriented. What had just happened? I had been in the angel's base, finding out that I wasn't just a human, but a full-blooded mortal. Now I was home, after who knew how long of being unconscious from having my body sliced open. Thankfully, someone had changed my sheets and there was no sight of a bloodstain to be found. These last few days had made absolutely no sense and had worn me down due to lack of naps. Deciding now was as good as ever to take one, I curled up and closed my eyes, only to find the light that had been shining through my window had blackened, and not just because of my eyelids.

Very slowly, I opened my eyes again, suddenly recalling the memory of Kiku telling me that if I ever came into my own home without him again, without the power to repel the demons surrounding me… I would die.


	8. Playing Mind Games

**It seems like i always have news these days... well, i just want to let ya'll know that Spring Break is coming up in a few days and i'm going to Florida! So, consequently, i won't be here... putting up chapters... but i swear i will try my hardest to write while i'm there and who knows? Maybe i'll even have more than one done when i get back! Peace, love, luck, and fanfics :) Please let me know how i'm doing!**

Quickly, I shot up out of my bed, trying desperately to make my way to the door. But in a wave, the black mass followed me like a shadow, sticking close to me and draining what little energy I possessed slowly. I felt myself slowing with every movement I made, tripping over my own feet several times before slamming to the ground, inches away from the only way out of my house. Kiku had been right. This whole time, he had been the only thing keeping me from Death, the "demon" that was slowly but surely taking me out now, my vision slowly beginning to flicker.

This wasn't a terrible way to go, weighed down by the sins of my father as I was. It wasn't painful; in fact, compared to having a sword through my heart, this was almost… relaxing. Maybe now was a perfect time to take that nap I had been planning. If I was lucky, I would be freed from the pressures of this world soon. Slowly, a contented smile crossing my face, I closed my eyes, warmth surging through me as I made the decision to let myself go.

"This is not what I ordered you to do! You can't be killing him yet; it's too soon. If he goes missing, Kiku will get suspicious, _da_? He knows that I am already knowing about the demons that are in this house. If he finds out that I sent them and this man is killed, I will have to be doing this to Kiku too! So, do not be killing him yet. We will be seeing squirm some more later! For now, we save the useless life," Ivan said, sounding amused by the whole prospect of my death.

"Master… if you didn't want him dead, why was he sent here?" This voice was cool and calm, belonging to someone I had met as well, but I couldn't place it with a face. "Why send him where you know your demons will try to kill him?"

"It is fun to watch!" was the Russian's simple answer. "Now we go back to base and pretend it was just a bad dream!"

The mysterious man sighed. "Very well, Master."

"I like to be playing the mind games!" He gave a small laugh. "Go and get Yao to come to the planning room and I will be going back." With that, he picked me up and I felt myself taken lightly into the air as Ivan stretched his wings and took me back to where he had sent me from.

The next thing I was aware of was Kiku sitting beside my bed in the hospital, doing something that looked very similar to sewing. I didn't know when I'd blacked out, but it wasn't before I had heard several things I wasn't supposed to. One thing was very clear; Ivan, supposedly an angel, controlled the demons in my house. Also, now that I had more energy, it was less difficult to put a face to the voice of Ivan's assistant.

I was more than sure that the man I had heard calling him "Master" was Gupta.

Stunned by my discoveries, I flung myself up, startling Kiku and causing him to stab himself with the needle. "Ah!" he exclaimed, holding out his finger in examination.

"Sorry," I apologized, before continuing to get up out of bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, following me as I made a break for the door. "Ivan told me what happened."

What HAD happened? What was the Russian man's excuse for my near death experience? If Kiku was aware that Ivan knew of the demons in my house, there's no way that he would have just said he sent me there to play with me. Instead of spilling what I had learned about just yet, I gave him the most clueless look I could manage and asked, "What happened? I can't remember anything…"

He seemed startled by this. "Ivan was training you and Gupta to become fighters with the rest of us and you collapsed from exertion."

I had to admit the story made sense. I tended not to exercise in any fashion, so if I had really been placed in a place where I had to work hard, I would have most likely had a narcotic moment and passed out. I blinked a few times before saying, "That's right…"

"Um, maybe you need to lie down a little longer?" the smaller man asked, worried about me yet again, grasping my sleeve and giving a very light tug.

I shook my head and gently untangled his fingers from the fabric, not wanting to let go of his hand but doing it anyway. "I'm hungry."

"Oh, _hai_!" A guilty look flashed across his face. "Everyone else has already eaten tonight, but if you don't mind Japanese food, I can make something for you."

I gave him a nod, to indicate I'd like that and followed him out of the room and to the kitchen where we had washed dishes. He immediately got to work, pulling out ingredients and chopping them into a bowl with neat and careful precision. I watched him work, intrigued, as he continued to move nonstop, his face so focused it was almost comical. Within a few minutes, there was a fresh plate of something sitting in front of me, along with chopsticks and a cup of tea.

I'd never really eaten with chopsticks, so it was Kiku's turn to be amused by me as I picked them up and grasped food, only to have it all fall the minute I brought it to my mouth. I watched in silent horror as one scalding piece fell right onto my lap, but was relieved to find that it was only moderately warm through my pants. Frustrated, I stared at it dismally, picking it up with my fingers and putting it into my mouth. It… was really delicious… As I sucked on my fingers, I eyed the rest of the food.

Kiku gave a small laugh and came up behind me, placing the chopsticks in my hand the correct way and helping me get a bite of food into my mouth. When he was convinced I had it, he let me do it myself, going back behind the counter to wash the dishes he'd used. Once I'd eaten, I followed him in, helping him out with the last bit of cleaning, with much thanks from him.

"Thank you. I've never eaten something so good," I told him, which seemed to throw him off guard.

A faint blush crept up into his cheeks, coloring them a bright pink. "I-I have been cooking my whole life…"

I shrugged. "Me too, but I'm not as good as you."

"_Arigato…" _he said, giving me a small bow of his head.

With everything cleaned and put away, we were left staring at each other, neither of us able to think of what to say to the other. He looked very uncomfortable, I decided, so I just walked out of the room, unsure of what else to do. Luckily, he followed me and we ended up in an empty living room full of extra fluffy couches and a very large plasma TV, a good place for a small nap. An even better place to be alone with Kiku to talk about what I had overheard.

But was it time yet? If I told him too soon, I risked the chance of having us both killed. Maybe… I would wait until Kiku went back home, to his house on Earth. Yes, there, we risked much less of a chance of being heard.

"When are you going to go home?" I asked Kiku as we both collapsed onto a beige loveseat.

He gave a small sigh and shook his head. "Well, Ivan has told us all to remain here for a bit longer. I can't figure out why, but he has strange requests sometimes. Once, he told us to stay here just because he wanted to have a very large sleepover. It… made me feel very much like a teenage girl."

I smiled, imagining all the men that I worked with in frilly pajamas playing truth or dare, having pillow fights, and staying up late telling ghost stories. It was… strange, but… it sounded a little fun. If you belonged here. Which I , clearly, did not. I was an outcast, being just the ordinary human I was. I had known from the start that things would be this way. Before I could get too deeply into though about it, there were footsteps outside the door, and both Kiku and I paused to listen to the intense conversation taking place.

"Aiyaa~! He heard everything you said? Are you sure?" That was Yao.

"_Da, _but what will he do with what he has found out?" Ivan said in a singsong voice. "The secret is almost out! But who will be believing him if he tells? Kiku, maybe, but no one else can trust someone who's just an outsider to us! Soon he will become my servant, just like Gupta, as he falls more and more under my control! And when he's mine… I will be playing a few more games with him! Hmm… I wonder where Gupta could be?"

Yao made a noise of protest. "Why don't you just forget about Gupta and Heracles for awhile, aru?" he snapped grumpily.

Ivan just giggled and said, "Yao is jealous!"

"I a-am not!"

"_Da, _Yao is jealous! But he doesn't need to be! Ivan likes him the best," the Russian purred seductively. "But he is better when he's naked!"

I could hear Yao's vehement protests to the sexual harassment he was receiving all the way down the hall as he was dragged to what I was sure was Ivan's bedroom. Seconds later, Ivan's voice came over a loudspeaker, saying, "Tonight's activities have been cancelled! Everyone can go home!" The Chinese man's dying complaints were audible in the background for a few seconds, before the thing shut off completely.

I looked over at Kiku and found him standing, brushing off his clothes. "Well, we should be leaving. You may stay the night at my house, if you would like to."

Wait, hadn't he heard anything that the two had said before what came over the speaker? What did he make of that? Or did he just not want to talk about it in a place where, even preoccupied, Ivan could burst in at any second? Confused, I found myself just staring at him intensely.

"Wh-what is it?" he asked, self-consciously looking down at himself and back up.

"You didn't hear what they said?" I wondered, forgetting to be careful.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Ivan said we could all go home now. I heard only that."

I started to shake my head, but decided to just give in. What point was there in arguing about something he obviously hadn't heard? Unless… unless he was still being careful. There had been something strange about the robotic way he had said that he had heard only the loudspeaker part. Bad acting? Brainwashing? Whatever it was, it seemed that Ivan had intended for only me to hear about his escapades with Yao in the hall. Like he was teasing me and saying no one would believe that he was the demons' leader.

And he was exactly right. No one would believe me over him. What power did I have? It was all about power in this game that he had set up. He was challenging me. For what reason, I didn't know. Why not challenge the impassive Gupta, who seemed so strong? Why pick on the quiet, sleepy Greek man who loved cats? Maybe his sole purpose for choosing me was BECAUSE I was the way I was. Maybe he was trying to uncover a hidden side of myself I never knew existed.

Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't a good thing. For anyone.


	9. Gyros

**Ciao! Okay, so here we go again with apologizing... I'm sorry it's taking me this long to put out such short things. But with Spring Break and stuff, it's been... weeeeeeee. Oh, and i just got my wisdom teeth out yesterday, so I'm very sorry if anything i wrote sounds ridiculous! Thanks, as always, to those of you who review :) It really helps my writing when i know what you like! Read, enjoy, and review everyone 3**

"Um… would you like to?" Kiku asked me, blushing, as we walked down the hallway on our way home.

"Like to what?" If he had been talking, I hadn't been listening… my mind was stuck on his complete ignorance of what had conspired in the hall.

"Come over tonight? So that you don't have to stay in a, well… _haunted _house," he said, adding quickly, "No pun intended."

Ignoring his lame joke, I nodded, opening my mouth to say something, but closing it again. How would telling him affect the flow of my life? Of his life? Life in general, really. I didn't know what Ivan was capable of doing. It appeared that he was the king of angels and demons at the moment, but was that the truth or what he wanted me to think? I sighed and rubbed my aching head, desperately wishing for a good, long nap and maybe something to eat…

Suddenly, I was faintly aware of a clicking noise in my thoughtful stupor. Breaking out of the daze, I looked around and found myself inside of Kiku's house, which was just as neat and clean as I remembered it. Would I ever be paying enough attention to see the transition from the angel's base to Earth? Probably not…

"Please, feel free to use anything you would like," offered Kiku graciously, pointing me to the room where I would be staying tonight.

Trying not to dwell on the fact that it was across the whole house from where his room was, I went in and looked around, using the décor as an excuse to stop thinking about the supernatural things happening. It was fine Japanese art, but hardly enough to keep my brain busy for very long, so I started searching through the bookshelf, hoping to find something more distracting. Kiku had gone after telling me where the bath was and that the refrigerator was open for use, if I'd like, so I was alone as I pulled the black, belted book off the shelf.

The second I opened it, it burst into green and blue flames, a faint child's shriek audible as it burned up and fell to ashes at my feet.

Frozen in shock, hands still up as if grasping the book, I stared in horror at what I had done. I didn't even notice Kiku until he had come up, kneeling near the large pile of smoldering ashes, a sorrowful expression written on his face. When he looked up at me, I could see his onyx eyes crying the word, "Why?" But when he spoke, his voice was completely neutral.

"I heard it screaming." He told me, answering an unasked question. "You see, this book has been passed down for generations in my family, from the very first angel who ever existed. We've each been taught a tale that goes with it, as well. It goes that this is the book that God designated for his Warriors, so that they may learn all the techniques to fight the evils of this world, and various other ones. He gave it to that first angel, a fighter, and ordered him to lock it up tightly, so that only angels may know the code to opening it up again, to learn His written lessons. Well, the angel did as God commanded, and for many generations the plan worked out. But as more passed, family feuds started. In rage, just one angel withheld the code to opening the book and, as a result of that, for centuries no one was able to know God's words. It was given to me by my father, who told me to care for it despite my inability to read it. That was when I started experimenting, trying to figure out how to unlock it and depict the code. Because if I knew how, then I could start the cycle over again… But he also warned me that if it fell into demonic hands, it would quite literally die a fiery death. I was… very, very close to discovering it…"

I hated the way he was speaking; slowly and methodically, as if I had just ruined everything he'd ever lived for with one stroke of my hand.

"But I guess what's done is done," he sighed. "And I should have known all along."

Confused and worried about Kiku, I knelt beside him on the floor and put my arm around him, trying to comfort him.

He allowed me to do so, but continued speaking in a slow, melancholy voice. "Now God's words will never reach me. I promised my father I'd never let the evils of the demons draw me in, no matter what I did. Now I realize he was speaking a prophecy of his own; one day, you will meet someone, and they will draw you in with honest eyes the color of spring. A warm, loving smile. Pretend confusion. But this was your plan all along, wasn't it? To trick me to destroy the book?"

His words took my breath away, stunned me too much for me to possibly be able to speak. Which, of course, made me look guiltier than ever in his cold, dark eyes that were looking upon me now. It was true that I had destroyed the book with my own hands, but it had in no way been purposeful. I hadn't even known I had the blood of something demonic running through my veins. But it was impossible to try to explain that now, to regain his sympathies, because I had just ruined half of his life. Now, there was no way he would ever love me back.

"But then why? Why did the demons attack you in your home if you ARE one? Although, you are demons, and that's what demons do… but how is it you are impervious to Heaven, then? You've been there twice now." He shook his head, causing his short, dark hair to brush against my bare arm. "Heracles… what _ARE_ you? Not man, nor angel, nor full blooded demon, nor any other creature. It's vexing to us all."

"Well," I said, speaking for the first time since I got here, "is it possible for me to be a combination? Maybe I'm impervious to Heaven because I have angel in me. Maybe I… did this… because I'm also part demon."

Now it was his turn to be shocked silent. Hands still sifting through the now fireless ashes on the ground, he pondered the possibility. "Impossible…" he finally whispered. "For an angel to have a demon's child would send them straight to Hell."

"Then it is possible, if you're willing to take the risk my mother did."

That was it. It all clicked. My father was abusive; a demon even in his child's eyes. My mother suffered, but she always loved me, until the day she died. She was more than my mother, she was my guardian angel. And if I was both, then of course it made sense that I survived the sword and went to Heaven easily. But it also made sense that Ivan would have control over me. Maybe… just maybe… he was both halves like me, which accounted for his ability to lead both sides. And that was what Gupta was as well.

Ivan had known from the very start.

Kiku looked away from my eyes, acknowledging my fear on this subject. I was sure it had clicked in his head, too, and he was busy trying to figure out what to do next. As if for support, his little white dog also came into the room and sat with us, nuzzling both our legs before settling down next to his master. I gave the puppy a small stroke, grinning when his tail wagged happily. And, just like that, as if the feeling of fur was all it took to open up my mind, I had a plan.

"Kiku… the angels said in the very beginning that in order for me to live in peace again, I would need to destroy my inner demons, which were thick in my house. Well, I found out something strange after you were sent out on a mission with Sadiq. Ivan sent me back to my house and I was attacked, just as we knew I would be. But then, out of nowhere, Ivan showed up and called the demons off. Gupta was there too, Ivan's right-hand man. They took me back and told you I'd had an accident. What I mean is, Ivan isn't only the leader of the angels, but the demons as well."

The Japanese man, who had been listening attentively, now seemed distraught at the concept. "But… how could that be? What does it mean?"

I took a deep breath, feeling my eyelids lowering. "It means that Ivan is the demon inside me. And he's who I'm going to have to destroy."

As realization set in, I stood up, pulling him with me, and walked him back to his room. I tried to set him in his bed, but he was shocked stiff, his hands locked firmly onto my T-shirt, so I quickly decided that it was better to ask forgiveness than permission and got into bed with him. Closing my eyes, all I could hear was the sound of his rapid, scared heartbeat reverberating through my body. I'd surprised him terribly in my discovery, but at least I knew who I was. At least it made sense now. And at least, for one night, I'd get to fall asleep with him by my side, whether he was aware of it or not.

I secretly pretended he was.

Waking up in the morning was more pleasant than any other awakening I'd ever had. The sun was shining, brightly and cheerfully, right onto Kiku's gentle, careless sleeping face. Sometime during the night, he'd released his hold on me and grabbed onto a blanket instead, pulling it up against his face, just like a child. I couldn't help but imagining him sucking his thumb right now, or maybe a pacifier. What had he looked like as a baby?

As softly as I could muster, I eased my way out of the tight sleeping situation and went into the kitchen to find something to eat. Inside the fridge, there was nothing I could identify, so I just chose something at random and put it in the microwave, giving a huge yawn. His dog padded into the room and gave a happy yip, circling a metal food dish on the ground. Obviously, he expected me to feed him, but… what? Shrugging, I took my now cooked breakfast out and scooped some into his bowl, watching as he attacked it. It reminded me of my clan, who had definitely eaten my house by now. Sighing as sadness started to well in me, I sat down at the table and began to absentmindedly eat while "reading" the assortment of Japanese magazines laid out.

"Good morning," said a quiet voice.

I looked up, hoping to find Kiku clad in bedhead hair like mine, only finding instead that he had already prepared himself for the day and was prim and proper. Mouth full, I nodded my response back to him. Then, out of nowhere, his eye brows furrowed and he looked concerned, amused, and curious, all at the same time.

I swallowed. "Umm…."

"Are you eating… dog food?" Kiku asked.

Mildly surprised, I looked down at the can's label, and sure enough, it read "IAMS." Blinking a few times, I looked back up at him and said, "I guess I am."

And, just like that, he cracked up laughing until tears leaked out of his eyes. I just stared at the canned food in front of me, feeling a little stupid. It hadn't really tasted bad, though. It had seemed like any ordinary meat. Shaking off my confusion, I dumped the rest of the food in the dog's dish and settled to washing my hands in the sink. Kiku, who had been laughing the whole while, finally calmed down and sat at the table, reading a magazine to compose himself. After I was cleaned up, I joined him and we fell into a deep silence.

"That was different. The laughing," I managed after quite some time of just staring at the table.

"_Hai._ The look on your face was quite amusing. How did you mistake dog food for real food, though, if I may ask you?" he wondered, still grinning.

"Well, it kind of smelled like a gyro," was my answer.


	10. A Revolution

**Howdy! It's been a long time since i put a chapter up... more computer issues... blah blah. So here it is :D Thanks for reading guys and feedback is always a welcome thing, as long as it's nice and/or helpful in some way! Read, review, enjoy :)**

"So… what should we do now?" I asked Kiku, who was just sitting down after making us both a real breakfast.

I could see the wheels turning in his head, quickly conjuring and rejecting ideas as they frantically tried to put out an answer that would be the solution to this whole mess. "I'm assuming that you already know we must defeat Ivan..." he finally murmured.

I nodded before giving a huge yawn and stretching my muscles. "Yeah. If I ever want to live peacefully in my house."

He gave a long sigh and rubbed his temples. "Well then, first we must come up with an idea on how to do that. And it won't be easy convincing the others that he's guilty of these crimes, either. Ivan has always treated them very well and they barely know you."

Surprised, I looked up. "Ivan said the same thing…" I informed him. "Right before he dragged Yao off to have sex."

"U-uhm…. Yes…."

He seemed embarrassed by my bluntness, though I wasn't really sure why. It made me wonder if he had ever said the word "sex" out loud before in his life. Just as I was about to ask, his dark eyes lit up with what I was positive was his idea, the one that would solve this whole problem.

"Ivan controls them all by brainwashing, I'm sure," he said, speaking faster due to his excitement. "Maybe if we could find a way to reverse the spell he uses, WE could be the ones to control them! Then we can fight the war that he has waged with you, with every angel we can find on our side! It would be perfect, and you wouldn't need to try and convince anyone!"

"That sounds a little dark…" I told him, uncertain. I didn't really want to take anyone's mind from them.

His bright energy didn't ebb. "Well, it is a little, but without them there is you and me alone against the whole of the angel and demon populations."

"But my cats," I informed him. "They'll help us too."

This threw him a little, but he shook it off, his silky hair bouncing around on his head. "Don't you see? After we have gotten them on our side, we will fight the battle and then they won't have to remember anything happened at all! After Ivan is gone, we will free their minds from ever being controlled again!"

Maybe it was the pleading tone in his voice, or the whole desperate look about him that changed my decision. Either way, I knew, after he claimed we would free them, that he had me. "Okay. So how do we get the brainwashed angels on our side?"

A knowing smile flashed across his face, accompanied by relief that I was finally giving in. "I have connections."

Those "connections" turned out to be the only other person in the whole angel flock who hadn't succumbed to the powers of Russian hypnotism. Someone that I had worked with for a long time. Someone who believed in unicorns, fairies, and other various creatures that were said to be nonexistent. Someone who I hadn't known practiced black magic until now.

Arthur Kirkland.

We were standing outside his house now, knocking on the door fervently. If we were to follow through with any of this slightly demonic plan, he had to agree to help us with it. Luckily, Kiku had assured me that he and Arthur were good friends, that even when everyone else shunned Arthur's craziness, he had taken him in. So the Englishman owed him one. Or something like that…

"Yes, yes, what? I'm coming!"

We froze, both in mid-knock for a moment, before straightening up as the door swung open. He looked like he always did when he came to work, very cleanly groomed (if you ignored his eyebrows) and well-dressed and kind of like he had some enormous stick up his butt. The second he spotted the two of us, both slightly frantic and panting, he leaned against the doorframe in instant suspicion.

"Can I help you?" he asked a little grouchily, looking back and forth between us.

"Please," Kiku started, before giving a bow and explaining the rest. "We need a favor."

Sighing, he straightened up. "Very well, come in and explain then."

We followed his orders and were shown to a sofa, where we both sat, relieved that we had made it this far. Kiku took up the lead of the conversation, thankfully, because this was a very comfortable couch… it made me really tired.

Setting his brow sternly, the Japanese man began to talk. "I'm very sorry to impose on you like this so early in the morning, but it's urgent. You see, Heracles has made a discovery that could very possibly put all of the warrior angels in danger quickly. He has found that our leader, Ivan, is not only our director in fighting demons, but is also the demons' director in fighting us. He's the king of angels and demons, a mixture between the two, something that could very well be disastrous if ever he should decide to send them onto us unexpectedly. So Heracles and I have come to the conclusion that we must fight and destroy him to eliminate the threat."

Arthur, who had remained surprisingly quiet throughout the explanation, finally broke in. "And just how are you going to do that? Even you must realize that everyone but the two of us is being controlled with a spell that that bloody Russian git conjured up! It would take immense convincing to get them to revolt!"

"_Hai, _and this is where we require your assistance. You see, we were hoping that, possibly, you could have some sort of spell that… that would reverse Ivan's and send the angels into our allegiance instead of his? Of course I realize that there are several angels that, even with the most powerful convincing, will not switch sides, such as Yao and Gupta, but regardless, we would be much more powerful if we were an army of more than three and some cats."

Obviously confused by the cat comment, Arthur opened his mouth to ask before deciding otherwise and closing it. After awhile of staring intently at the beige carpeted floor, he looked up at us again, his green eyes burning with a kind of fiery passion that I had only ever seen when he was angry. "All right," he said, agreeing. "But on one condition. When we defeat that wanker, I want to be the leader of the angels. If I'm going to waste so much magic on this, there had better be a damn good reason why."

Kiku and I exchanged a glance and a shrug.

"It's yours," Kiku said, smiling. "And welcome to the alliance."

Looking pleased with the way this had turned out, Arthur stood up and brushed invisible dirt off himself. "Perfect. Now, there are a small handful of spells which have been going through my head, but I've yet to try them to see if they actually work, so I'll need a few days to practice."

"Of course," Kiku told him. "We must plan immediately what we are going to do so that this will not fail. If it does, it could be the end for the entire population of fighters that we know."

Since I had been quiet this whole time, I had to interject my thoughts. "Um…brainwashing everyone seems like a little much though… if there are people who will agree without that happening, shouldn't we just ask them to join?"

"And alert the ones who won't be swayed by us to the plan?" Arthur said critically. "Absolutely not. They must all be brainwashed again because they were stupid enough to fall for it in the first place!"

I gave a small sigh, wondering how I was getting out sadisticated by these two. They both had such cute faces… Maybe evil came naturally to the small and cute. To me, it just seemed like too much effort on their part. Arthur had said he didn't want to waste magic; wouldn't it be less of a waste to ask people first? But I did see his point. Surely someone would tell Ivan of our plans before we could get halfway through them. Like Sadiq. Even I wasn't oblivious to his feeling toward Gupta, and wherever the Egyptian chose to go, he would follow him. Everyone was driven by incentive.

Because I couldn't seem to help it, I continued to fight for my side. "You won't even ask Alfred?"

The Brit flinched a little before giving an awkward laugh. "Why on earth would I want to ask that idiot to be on our side? What's he got to do with this?"

"Well… I just thought that since you two are dating that it made sense."

His face reddened and he gave me his trademark scowl. "We are NOT dating. Besides, he's just as moronic as the rest of them for letting himself get sucked under that bloody Russians spell, despite what I told him… He refuses to listen to me. So, no, Alfred will not be joining the three of us."

This time, I shut up, aware that I had upset him with my words. The last thing I needed was for him to refuse to help us because I couldn't help stating obvious things that hadn't quite been accepted by the people/ parties involved. Which is exactly what Kiku's next look told me. And it wasn't like I wasn't having my own issues. My mind couldn't help but jump ahead of itself when it came to the attractive man beside me.

"Right, so I'll call you when I've found the correct spell…" Arthur muttered unhappily. "Until then, figure out what we'll be doing once we've gathered the angels to our side. How we'll be declaring war against someone who may possibly have unlimited demon power. Mind you, I can barely summon one, so this could get rather ugly despite having the others on our side. I just hope you're prepared for this. Good day, Kiku, Heracles."

Taking this as our dismissal, the two of us left, ignoring the angry sounds behind us as someone bounded down the stairs and broke something.

Feeling Arthur's love woes more than he could ever know, I stared longingly at Kiku's empty hand as we walked back to his place. Thankfully, he was too immersed in his own thoughts to notice when I lost my control and made a grab for his hand, only to have him move it at the last second as he turned to talk to me.

"That was… not very friendly," he informed me, obviously talking about the Alfred thing. "We don't want to make an enemy of him."

"It slipped out," I told him sadly. "I just thought that since they're together, he would want to ask him instead of controlling him."

"When put that way, it sounds like a much more logical thought," Kiku told me, the smile returning to his face. "But you must think through these things better."

I nodded, agreeing to try. We rounded the corner to where Kiku's house was, talking lightly about our options in going about this, when Kiku froze, hand on his waistline.

"What?" I asked, surprised.

He looked infuriated and was staring toward his house intently. "I have another visitor."

Slowly and quietly, he withdrew what I saw was a shiny, powerful katana from a sheath I hadn't seen and stepped forward, me trailing a few paces behind. We slunk toward his home, low and silent, until we were at the front door, looking into a perfectly empty space. Frowning, I looked down at the smaller man to ask if he could have imagined it, when I heard a small footstep behind me and spun.

"Guys, don't freak out so much!" said Sadiq, inches away from my ears. "I just came for a visit."

I heard Kiku's suck in a breath, shocked, before he re-sheathed his weapon and turned to face the Turkish imposter. "I'm starting to not be able to tell the difference between friend and foe," he stated. "But I'm glad that it's you."

"Yeah, gee, I'm glad to see you too. Anyway, I actually came here for a reason that wasn't to pick on the Greek bastard, for once. Really, it's more important than him or you or, sadly, me. It's about Gupta… See, I'm actually sort of worried about him."

Kiku's eyes widened and I could tell we were thinking the same thing. Did Sadiq see that Ivan was controlling Gupta? Did he realize that all his friends were just being brainwashed?

"How so?" Kiku asked. "What seems to be the issue?"

We held our breath collectively as he ordered his thoughts.

"Well," Sadiq muttered, obviously upset, "I like him and stuff, but there's something that's really bothering me about him! Something that's making it so I can't ask him out!"

"And that is…?" Kiku prompted.

Sadiq gave a massively disappointed sigh. "I think Ivan is fucking him."


	11. Closed For Repairs

**Hellooooo everyone! It's been awhile, as usual, but we're finally getting closer to the end! And i will try my best not to make it stupid. Meanwhile, please enjoy the latest installment of my story :D Read, review, enjoy my friends! (It's like my motto now or something... ;)**

The room was silent. And for a second there, I had been sure he had understood what was happening. Kiku looked equally as frustrated with Sadiq, staring at him as if he were a little slow. He was, if he thought the biggest problem here was Ivan doing the man he happened to like. Which he quite obviously did.

"And you came all the way to my home to ask for my help?" Kiku asked, exasperated.

Sadiq shook his head. "Well, no, I came just because, but it always helps to have other people give me suggestions on what to do. I mean, I could just ask him out and see what happens, but that would suck if he said no! And since you seem to be so happy in your relationship with THAT guy, I was thinking maybe you could tell me the secret."

Just as I expected, because he really didn't believe we were together, his pale face grew pink and he vehemently denied our attraction. "W-we are not in any form of relationship together! Besides, that's not what's important here!"

Sadiq raised an eyebrow before sitting down on the floor and asking, "Then what is? You guys did seem really jumpy when you walked in. Did you commit a crime or something?"

"Not yet." The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. Of course, this resulted in a fierce look from Kiku that said, "_We don't know what side he's on…"_ But really, just looking at the Turk was enough to let you know he wasn't under anyone's brain control. Somehow he too had been able to deflect the Russian's weird magic. Maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to judge him at Arthur's.

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" asked Sadiq.

Kiku gave a short, stiff shake of his head. "No, it is not a joke. But we also can't explain until we know where your allegiances lie."

Sadiq was blank. "Huh?"

"Well," I interrupted, curling up on the floor, "If Gupta were, say, the henchman of an evil psychopath, would you still be on his side no matter what?"

Again, he raised an eyebrow, so confused I felt amusement as he tried to put the nonexistent puzzle pieces together. "Uh… wait, is this some weird question of how loyal a boyfriend I'd be? If Gupta is in the next room, I swear-"

Kiku put a hand up to stop him and joined the two of us on the ground, though, unlike us, didn't sprawl out. "This has nothing to do with your feelings at this point. We would like you to answer the question as though your life depended on it."

"Okay, in that case, I'm going to have to say no. He's sexy, but that's not enough for me to go under the fire for him."

Kiku and I both breathed a huge sigh of relief. We could trust him.

"Then you need to know." With that, Kiku explained every inch of what had taken place; our plan to rid ourselves of this evil burden, Arthur's request to be the new leader, Sadiq's evil crush-thing's association. Nothing was left out.

Sadiq took the news rather well, as if maybe he had expected this, and after Kiku had finished, told us, "Well, I've been with Ivan for so long, this doesn't even surprise me somehow. So, fine, I'll join your little rebellion group, but only because I want to kick his butt and save my man from being invaded by Russia."

On that note, we all decided that it was time to go our separate ways, because Sadiq had had only a few hours to kill before he was needed by Ivan again and I needed a walk to clear my head before I did something someone else might find unpleasant or regrettable. I left Kiku at home, assured that he could take care of himself, since he had been perfectly fine way before I came along.

I decided to take my old route, the one I had every day before things had gotten weird. It was just the same as I remembered it, surrounded by lush green trees, a soft warm wind blowing the branches gently, a signal that spring was on its way into summer. It was quiet out here, all alone. A little too quiet. Uneasily, I made my way over to the pet store, where I had bought Jingle not long ago, desiring the comfort of something vaguely familiar in a world that had gone somewhat insane. But, like an omen, the place was closed, a sign on the front door stating, "Closed for repairs."

Feeling mildly distressed, I decided that this walk had been long enough (even though I hadn't really thought through anything… except kittens) and started to head back to Kiku's, only to realize just exactly how close I was to my own home. Well… it couldn't hurt to just pop inside and make sure his cats were okay, right? They were probably furious about being left alone in a house full of deranged demons… Slowly, I headed up that way, to the house that I had lived in since birth, trying not to drag as a heavy weight pressed down on my head. Presumably, it was the negativity in the air that was making me feel like I was being crushed, and this fact was only supported when I reached the door and almost fell over from the power.

I could hear them mewling from inside, begging for help, pleading me to save them from the wretched fates that I had condemned them to. Using all the strength I had left, I turned the knob and barreled inside, imagining a huge wall of demons being scattered as I shoved, but… there was nothing. The place was completely empty, aside from one little gray kitten staring up at me with big, clear blue eyes, voicing his joy at my homecoming.

"Jingle," I mumbled, leaning down and pulling him into my arms. Methodically, he gave me his usual motorboat purr. "Where are the rest of the kitties?"

His answer was to stop purring and blink up at me several times.

Wonderingly, I moved on, searching through every room and finding each one untouched by anything, demon, cat, or otherwise. They were even in the kitchen. And the couch was still in one piece. Starting to get nervous, I scratched at Jingle's ears and checked the only place left, where I doubted any of them would be. The bathtub wasn't exactly the most popular place among the group. I moved in cautiously, knowing that any abrupt movement could set off their fighting instincts instantly, and drew back the shower curtain as slowly as I possibly could to avoid any loud noise.

About ten pairs of glowing yellow eyes met me.

My first reaction, of course, was to be relieved, because my cats were safe. But… they were also clearly infuriated at me for leaving them, just as I knew they'd be. And unlike Kiku, I didn't have any tuna to sate them. So, still moving calmly, I backed up into the hallway and was about to go search for something to feed them, happy that I hadn't set them off, when Jingle suddenly leaped out of my arms and tore back into the darkness, yowling like crazy, before throwing himself at my biggest cat furiously.

That was when all hell began…

It was like Jingle had set off some alarm inside them. They all came running at me, claws extended in a clear effort to tear my skin to shreds. I barely had time to cover my face before their furry bodies were pelting into me. I could feel them all piling on me, meowing and crying, but, to my surprise, there was no pain. I uncovered my eyes and looked down at them, where they clung to me in various different fashions, ogling me with massive kitten eyes that begged. Except they weren't begging for my death; they were begging for my attention. All at once, they were rubbing their heads on me and licking me with their sandpaper tongues, telling me how much they'd missed me.

At that moment, I made a split second decision, grabbing armfuls of cats and willing the others to follow as I walked back out of my house, headed to the only other place where I knew they'd be safe. Hopefully, he wouldn't mind TOO much… Walking down the street was difficult, with people staring at me from all sides, little girls asking if they could pet my kitties, and older girls asking if they could pet my pussies, but I made it, barely reaching Kiku's front door before I put all the cats down and collapsed in a huff as they ran off to make themselves at home.

The other man just seemed shocked. "U-um, you went for a walk to bring back your cats?" he asked, his voice small as he watched the animals in amazement.

"Not originally," I told him honestly. "But… I just don't feel good without them."

I could tell by the look on his face he wasn't sure how good he'd feel WITH them, but he was polite in that way that he would never tell anyone how horrified he was by this. Especially not a guest in his home. Maybe that was taking advantage of him a little…but I would make sure he never regretted it, one day. For now, I could just apologize.

"Sorry," I said, holding back the urge to yawn as Jingle came and found his way onto Kiku's lap.

"We need to go shopping later…" he muttered, stroking the content cat aimlessly. "Oh! Sadiq called while you were out. He told me that there may be others who won't need to be brainwashed by us. He believes that Ludwig and Feliciano were also able to reject Ivan's control, which will bring our warrior count up to five and make this much easier on us. That's good, but until Arthur finds a way to reverse the spell… we can only watch and wait."

I nodded grimly, not even bothering to bring up my cats' part in the battle. "What…" I started, but changed my mind.

"_Hai?_"

Feeling a little weakened by his direct gaze, I gave in. "If we don't figure out what to do before Ivan finds out what we're doing…"

He sighed and quietly said, "Then we will fail. Ivan isn't likely to forgive a rebellion."

How weird it was to be on the verge of death and not feel any different than usual… Lazily, I lay back and watched the stars through the front door that I hadn't bothered to close. The sun had gone down quickly tonight, faster than I ever remembered it being… Demons drew strength from darkness and impurity, which was often associated with the night. All the scary things came out at night, as my mother used to tell me. But then, I wondered suddenly, if all the night creatures were supposed to be frightening, why did the stars come out? Why the moon? They were like little orbs of brightness, of hope, in the much larger bleakness of the sky.

The thought had me sitting up, glancing over to find that Kiku had lay down too, right next to me, and was staring upward with the pure fascination and wonder of a human. It was equally as fascinating to watch him watch the sky, with his dark brown eyes wide, curious, shining so beautifully in the dimness of the moon… Carelessly, I reached over and took his hand in mine, feeling for the first time that it was okay. He didn't even look over at me and I almost pulled away, but when I saw the smile playing at his lips, I knew he didn't mind and kept my ground.

"Don't you live up there? How can it be so interesting to you still?" I asked him, my voice low and quiet.

"_Hai_, I live in Heaven. But the Earth's night sky is not something that you see very often from there."

"How's Heaven's night different from here?" I wondered, turning so that I could see him while he responded.

He turned to face me as well, and for a moment, we seemed caught up in staring at each other. But after another minute, he finally said, his voice cool and intelligent as always, "The stars don't shine quite as brightly there as they do here."

I wondered if we were still talking about stars…

Entranced by him, I found myself scooting closer, until we were side by side, almost touching, but not quite. There would always remain that distance between us, no matter what I did, it seemed. Not for the first time, I wondered if he approved of us being so close together, or if he didn't feel that way about me at all. But obviously if he would hold my hand, he felt something for me. And that was more than I had expected from him. So I let that last movement be the end of my affection for tonight, even if I wished I could have a little more. I wouldn't push something that so obviously needed time to settle in his mind.

"Why don't the stars shine as bright in Heaven?" It seemed a little weird that Heaven shouldn't have more stars than Earth.

So quietly I was sure that I'd imagined it, I heard him say, "Because on Earth, Ivan's rules mean nothing and I am allowed to be here with you."

But I was pretty sure that was just my brain's desire talking.


	12. Civil War

**Okay, let's see... lots of things to say... First of all, thank you for picking my story :D It makes me super happy to know that you guys enjoy my stuff! Secondly, I'm really sorry if this chapter is a little weird, but I've been exhausted.-.- Zzzzz Thirdly, I'm so sorry it's short! I had some MAJOR writer's block and that barely ever happens to me, so this was quite the painful time... Anywhoozers, thanks guys! Read, review, enjoy :D (I think that changes almost every time i say it... but you get the picture!) Happy Fic...ing...**

When I woke up in the morning, Kiku and I were laying exactly where we had fallen asleep; on the floor with the door hanging wide open, the night sky full of stars now replaced with a blaring sun. His eyes were still closed, a small smile playing at his lips as he dreamed about something I would never be able to see. I wondered if it had anything to do with me… Unable to help myself, I ran a hand through his thick, silky black hair lovingly, before I got up and found two pairs of eyes staring amusedly at me from across the room.

"Going to rape him in his sleep?" Sadiq's deep timbre sounded throughout the entryway.

I stared at him blankly for a moment, before stupidly asking, "How did you get in here?"

"The bloody door was wide open, git," Arthur snapped, gesturing wildly in agitation. "We just walked in."

"Oh. Well…then why are you here?"

They looked at each other, both equally annoyed by my morning slowness.

"I found out how to reverse the spell. Stayed up all night just for it, so when I did it, I came over here and found him already waiting. While you were sleeping, we planned out what we were going to do," Arthur said in a superior tone, picking his spell book off the floor. "It seems as if the people who originally made this plan have slacked off."

Well the lack of sleep explained why he was so grouchy.

My eyelids lowered and I gave a huge yawn before standing up and making my way to the kitchen for some food. "Sleeping," I said while I walked, "Doesn't really count as slacking off. Brains function more fully when you rest."

Sadiq snorted, following after me. "Yeah, only if you have one!"

I froze, turning my head back to look at him, my eyes wide. "You mean you don't?" I asked him, just the right amount of innocence seeping into my voice.

His mouth fell into a scowl and he crossed his arms, muttering cusses under his breath. Thwarted again by my Greek wit… I turned back around and smiled to myself, the familiar banter relaxing me a little. I opened the door to the kitchen, semi-wondering to myself why the other two seemed to be following me, until I saw that they had laid a large piece of paper on the table. They HAD said they were planning earlier… but I was sure they hadn't accounted for the giant furball that was curled up in the middle of plans.

"What the hell?" asked Sadiq, reaching out a finger to poke it.

I held my arm out, stopping him short. "I wouldn't do that."

"Are those… are those cats?" Arthur asked, suddenly sounding nervous.

I nodded and motioned for them to take a step back, which they complied with without another word, before rolling up my sleeves and going in, quickly and carefully picking up every cat out of the large ball and placing it on the floor. They scattered the second they were loose, hiding in every nook and cranny and watching us with careful eyes. The only one that didn't take off running the other direction was Jingle; he had been at the very bottom of the pile and was coated in the other cats' fur. Instead of scattering, he strutted over to Sadiq and Arthur, only to begin rubbing himself all over them.

Sadiq grinned and gave him a scratch, saying to me, "The only things you're good for are napping at inappropriate times and picking out adorable cats, Karpusi."

I shrugged; it was true. I could admit it.

Arthur, however, seemed to cringe as his expensive clothes were cat hairified. "Ugh, I bloody hate cats," he growled, trying to push Jingle, who was mewling happily, away. "Get off me, you little bugger…"

Because I had hurt Arthur's feelings before, I decided just this once I could help him out, so I scooped Jingle up and locked him outside with Kiku, who was still seemingly fast asleep. With the cat lump taken care of, we sat down and got to work, the three of us ignoring my complaining stomach. They retold me everything that they had figured out without Kiku and me, going over the plan.

We would go to Heaven the second they were called in for another assignment; there we would meet up with Feli and Ludwig and anyone else that Ivan's magic hadn't gotten hold of and explain the plan to them in code form. Then, when everyone was called into the same room, Arthur would cast the spell, bringing them all under the control of the rebels. After that, the war would begin, just as soon as Ivan figured out what was happening. Arthur assured us that their outward actions wouldn't change in any way, so it would be very difficult for Ivan to see the change instantly, which would give us more time to train our new army. Demon fighting was what they did, so the training wasn't exactly a necessity, but it was better for them to know who their superiors were and better for us to know precisely what we had to deal with. Then… well, there was no way to be sure we would be successful, but we would give it our all.

After they had finished going over their plans, I was surprised to find all our eyes had gone serious, each of us thinking about what would happen if we failed. But, of course, we had known this could happen since the very beginning. At least if we lost our lives, we would die valiant deaths. Though… what happened if they died a second time? They were angels; they had already experienced death once before. Maybe they were reborn into the human world? Or were they completely destroyed? I would have to ask Kiku later, I decided.

Speaking of him…

"I'm going to go wake Kiku up so we can tell him the plan," I said, disrupting the pained silence that had fallen over the three of us.

The minute I entered the other room, I knew something was wrong. The silence was too deep; no crying cats, no light breathing, nothing. The next thing I noticed was the door. Had I shut it? It was perfectly closed now, even to the point of being locked. And the most important thing was screaming in my mind frantically, over and over.

Kiku and Jingle weren't here.

It didn't even take more than three seconds for me to fly out the door, calling their names desperately, hopes that Kiku had just decided to go for a morning walk flying through my mildly hazy mind. I could hear Sadiq and Arthur faintly, calling after me as I took off, but I ignored them, too intent on finding Kiku to think logically. If Kiku had just gone for a walk, how far would he have gotten? Where would he have gone? Why would he have taken Jingle with him? Finally, when my side was cramping and I was gasping for air, I sat down on a nearby bench, my head in my hands, defeated.

"Bloody HELL! Why were you running away from us?" Arthur yelled, collapsing on the seat next to me, through a fit of panting. "Couldn't you have, I don't know, waited maybe? I mean, we even lost Sadiq somewhere!"

My head snapped up and our eyes met momentarily. His face was flushed, his eyes deep set with exhaustion and anger that had probably been there a long, long time. He knew what it felt like to lose someone he loved; I had heard the story at work a few times, but mostly just ignored it. Once upon a time, Arthur had been a teenager, only fourteen or fifteen, who had lived alone, no family whatsoever. Then one day he had found himself walking down an alley, where there was a young boy, around eight, shivering in the cold, alone just like him. He had decided to take the kid in and raise him like a younger brother and for awhile, they stayed like that. But as this kid grew, he became more and more rebellious, until one day, he just took off and left Arthur all alone again.

Sure, Alfred had come back a few years later, but by then it was too late; they could never have that same brotherly relationship they had once possessed. Instead, they became lovers, though Arthur would never admit it if he was asked.

And, to make matters worse, he had been forced to watch as Alfred was ripped from him again, stolen by Ivan's mind control.

He had suffered through it. Grouchily, yes, but he had done it without panicking (publicly) and without giving up. So I could too. Kiku couldn't be too far… but if he hadn't gone out for a walk with Jingle, where was he?

And, just like that, it hit me.

As Sadiq came running up, I stood up and came to meet him, my eyes even with his mask. He was panting and sputtering, trying to speak without having enough air. Quickly, before he could get too much more worked up, I opened my mouth, silencing him with my words.

"I think Ivan may have gotten Kiku."

Horrified, the other two men stared at me, speechless.

"How?" demanded Sadiq, obviously in denial. "We were there the whole time! There's no way he could have snuck in and just… just TAKEN him!"

"Jingle."

They both stared at me like I had lost my mind.

Arthur looked at me dubiously. "Now you're blaming the cat? Are you crazy? No, you're a bloody nut, that's what you are!"

I shook my head, unsure how to convince them of what I had sorted through already. They would never understand… So instead of wasting precious time that I could be saving Kiku arguing fruitlessly, I decided to lay down the line. "We need to get to Heaven. The plan starts right now, if we want to save Kiku."

They looked at each other for a moment, suddenly buddies, and seemed to come to a quick conclusion.

"Alright, fine. But Ivan hasn't called us in yet, so we need an alternative reason for being there," Sadiq told me. "Oh, and you need to be unconscious."When I just stared at him, he shrugged. "Rules of bringing someone who isn't a member in. I just figured it wouldn't be a problem for you, since all you do is sleep. Or, if you're feeling a bit restless, I would be more than happy to club you over the head."

Arthur cleared his throat and said, "Well, whichever way you like, but we had better hurry before Ivan comes for us as well."

In a weird form of consensual agreement, I found myself curling up on the nearest bench and drifting off as they spoke quietly to each other, any form of dream far from my reach as I tossed anxiously. It wasn't until I felt one of them, most likely Sadiq, hauling me up into their arms that I truly blacked out, falling into a familiar pit of emptiness.

I knew immediately when we were there and my eyes flew open, the sudden nap a thing of the past. The three of us were in the little break room where Kiku and I had talked in the last time we were here, and the others seemed to be carelessly lounging on the couch, along with Feli and Ludwig. It took a moment to register that they seemed to be communicating nonsensically. There were definitely words coming out of Arthur's mouth as he hurriedly explained something, but they were meaningless, almost like baby babble. Yet there was Ludwig, nodding as if he understood, a grim expression on his face as he was conveyed the story.

Confused, I raised an eyebrow, until a certain memory came back to me.

Sadiq and Arthur had told me they were going to explain the plan in code form so that Ivan had no chance of overhearing it.

But of course it wasn't their faults that they didn't realize the point as completely moot. I was the only one who could ever understand that. They hadn't believed me when I'd told them. He was just a cat, they'd said. Just a cat who had nonchalantly listened in on every conversation we'd had about the rebellion. Yes, Ivan already knew about our plans to overthrow his reign as the king.

"Jingle" had told him so.

Only I would have been able to see the change in my kitten's behavior from the time I bought him to how he had been the last time, though, so it made sense that they didn't believe it. My idea was farfetched and crazy, even to my own mind, but there wasn't much that a magical spell couldn't do. And that included human to animal transformations. As my companions blathered on in their strange language, no doubt a result of magic itself, I watched the door carefully. I could sense it in the air, a feeling of foreboding and desperation, very similar to the way it had felt living in a house full of demons. I knew he was coming for us.

And when he did, this "civil war" that we had initiated would really begin.


	13. The Final Battle

**Man, i can't even BELIEVE how long it took me to post this... I'm ashamed :( But i felt that since this is the very last chapter *sob* I should make it nice and long! :D So here it is, the final installment! Sorry if it's a little weird... i was listening to vocaloid the whole time! Thank you for choosing this story to read, review, and enjoy! Oh, and if you have any suggestions for my next story, I'd be more than happy to hear! Ciao!**

I closed my eyes, breathing deeply and evenly, putting all my concentration into locating Ivan. It was obvious he was coming for us, but how close was he? How many men did he have with him? What sort of weaponry was he carrying? All these things could be determining factors in this battle and the last thing we needed was to be caught off our guard more than we already were. They weren't listening to me… and I was the only one who knew that we were all about to die.

Nonchalantly, I stood and gave a stretch, my back muscles tense and burning painfully, before heading for the door. No one made any move to stop me, too absorbed in their own conversation to notice as I slipped out into the hallway alone. The air outside the room was even heavier, brimming over alarmingly with a demonic presence that had me gritting my teeth from its intensity. I swallowed back my nausea and pressed on, searching intently for an arsenal. If I was going to fight in this war, I needed a weapon of my own, and though I'd never wielded a sword before, I was determined my blood would take over and guide me through the fight.

Setting my shoulders, I pushed into the nearest room and flipped on the light switch, disappointed when I only found an assortment of old furniture covered in white cloths and a thin layer of dust looking back at me. I turned with a sigh, the door creaking ominously as it closed slowly, setting quietly back into place as I continued down the hall. Just as I was nearing a corner, my neck hair prickled, shivers rocketing down my arms, and I spun quickly, only to find that there was nobody… I was alone in the hallway with nothing but the urgent voices of my fellow conspirators around me. Cautiously, I looked all about myself, the uneasy feeling in my chest continuing to grow as the minutes ticked by.

He couldn't be too far now… If only I could find a weapon.

Taking a deep breath, I concentrated only on moving forward and paying attention to the footsteps that were growing louder and nearer by the second. Each echo shook me to my core, my heart leaping nervously as I realized that this was only a game in Ivan's eyes, one that he couldn't possibly lose, and that with every movement, he was getting closer to merciless slaughter. We would have no time for training, no time for even turning his army if we weren't quick about it, and without the warriors fighting on our side… death would be inevitable.

As I stopped to think, another strange thing occurred to me. The hallway was deathly silent aside from the footsteps closing in. The others had been talking in their weird code language just seconds earlier… Unable to help myself, I turned around to head back, to make sure they were okay, only to find myself face to face with a young, beautifully familiar man, wearing a snowy kimono and an apathetic expression. His eyes were darker than usual, his black hair and eyes startling against the white of his clothing, causing him to almost seem ghost-like in his appearance as he grabbed onto the front of my shirt to steady the both of us.

My relief was immediate. "Kiku," I breathed, pulling him into a hug. "You're alive." So this was who I'd been sensing earlier.

He made no move to push me away, but also no move to return my embrace. "So it would seem."

"Who took you here?" Suddenly, I felt rage boil up inside me, my fists clenching as rare fury consumed me. "Was it Jingle?"

His eyebrows went up and a startled smile flashed across his face. "Jingle? You mean to say that you think a small kitten brought me here? Of course not. No one made me come here. I'm here of my own volition."

Confused, I stared down at his innocent face, seemingly completely clueless as to what was going on. "B-but… Kiku, do you know where Jingle is now?"

A mischievous smile flashed evilly across his face and his eyes that were usually so bright and calm narrowed cruelly into black heartless pits."_Hai_. He is right behind you."

My heart leapt in my chest and I spun around, quickly reaching for the only weapon I had on me.

A perfectly handcrafted wooden cross necklace, a treasure that had been another keepsake from my mother as she died.

Before I could even comprehend what I was doing, I charged at the beast that I had once held in my arms furiously. He was no longer a small, helpless baby tabby mewling for me to adopt him in the pet store, but a tall, lightly tanned man with a ruthless sword and hazel eyes burning with fire. He easily dodged my savage attack, light on his feet, his _keffiyeh_ billowing around his head like a halo as he landed in the spot he had been. Wordlessly, he gazed at my panting, sweating body with a hint of superiority, a faint smile at his lips as he prepared for me to come at him again.

I held my cross like a tiny sword, any hope I'd felt earlier drained with the entrance of Gupta. What could I do but try again? I was weak and inferior, my physical power no match for the Egyptian's, but if I did nothing, I would die that much sooner, as would all of the conspirators. I had to try… Centering my focus, I ran at him again, this time trying not to be quite so predictable with the way I moved. His sharp eyes followed my every step, registering everything before I did it, and he was always there to block it. The smile on his face seemed to grow larger and larger with every lunge I made toward him, his eyes beginning to glow a dull red, his teeth sharpening into fangs.

I knew if he had wanted to kill me, he already would have done it. That only meant one thing; Ivan had asked Gupta to spare my life. And if Ivan had asked that, it was clear he wanted to kill me himself.

The thought had my head spinning and my back, which had already been sore and pained, roasting with intense heat as I tried to contend with a real warrior alone. Somewhere along the futile battle, Kiku had disappeared into the shadows, leaving me to fend for myself. He was… I couldn't accept that he had come here on his own to help Ivan. There was just no way he could have done it. Kiku wasn't that type of man in the least. He was strong and beautiful, a real Japanese gentleman with a pure heart and soul. They had to be controlling him somehow…

"Karpusi?"

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the exclamation, Sadiq's voice rising above all other thoughts/noises in the area, as usual. Distracted, I turned, only to have my cheek clipped by the edge of the Egyptian's sword as he brought it down, blood running down my face immediately.

"What the hell are you doing to Gupta?" he shouted, running over and pushing me out of the way. "No way am I letting Ivan fuck him AND you kick his ass!"

Resisting the urge to shank Sadiq with the cross, I stepped aside and wiped the blood off my face onto my sleeve, panting heavily from the exertion. If he was here, then the rest of them were bound to be coming soon, too. I sighed in relief, glad that they had managed to survive the explanation at least and were finally setting the actual plan into action. Still, this was no time to be lenient. Gupta was still Ivan's righthand man and very clearly under the Russian's control, even if Sadiq didn't want to believe it.

"If you side with a traitor, then I'll have to kill you, too," I told him, holding up my necklace for emphasis.

Under his mask, I was sure his eyes were gleaming wickedly. "With that piece of crap? Yeah, maybe if you ended up giving me tetanus."

"And you have something better?" He was actually kind of stupid, but hopefully he had taken the hint.

Arrogantly, he snorted and pulled out his own sword, holding it up against Gupta. "Of course I do! I'm an angel warrior, remember?"

I wasn't sure who I wanted to kill more at the moment, him or Gupta. Of course he had missed the hint.

Gupta, who had been quietly watching us in intense confusion, spoke for the first time that I could remember. "Are you planning on using that sword that you just aimed at me or were you just doing it for show?"

Sadiq seemed startled by the question, possibly taken off guard by the silent man's random speech. Then, with more malice than I had thought the Turk contained, he snarled back, "Oh, you can bet I'm definitely going to use it."

For the first time, the Egyptian's grin seemed less psychotic and more… real. "Then please do so."

With an almost growl-like exclamation, Sadiq threw himself at Gupta, who easily countered his movements with twists and turns of his own, cutting off the Turk's every opening with a casual, lazy grace. The sound of metal clanging filled the hallway with noise as they repeatedly blocked each other's advances, each one cutting down the other's attacks. They were an eerily graceful pair, the demon and the angel, disappearing before my eyes with their intense speed. Caught up in the fight, I almost didn't realize that Arthur had come up next to me and was muttering under his breath, eyes closed in deep concentration.

It took me a second to figure out what he was doing and by the time it had registered, he had already flung some kind of magical beam at Gupta, who, preoccupied with Sadiq, didn't turn in time to see it coming. For a horrifying moment, I was sure that he was going to be hit, hit and murdered by the spell that had been cast at him, brutally bloodied in front of Sadiq. Even a demon that followed blindly after Ivan didn't deserve that sort of death, no matter how evil he was. Just as I was about to act, there was a bright flash and suddenly, the beam of magic was headed back this way, flying toward the unsuspecting Arthur at a velocity much higher than it had been cast.

He barely had time to duck as it flew over his head. "Bloody HELL!"

We both watched in shock as it zoomed down the hall, dissipating into the dark, empty abyss. His eyes were bright with adrenaline and shock, and, in typical him style, he turned to give whoever the heck had done that a piece of his mind, face reddening with anger. But the second he saw the offender, he paled shockingly and took a shaky step back, falling from his instability. Smiling from where the two Middle Easterners fought, his own eyes blue as the sky, was Alfred, his hands raised in a shield-like fashion.

"A-Alfred?" Arthur's voice was weak and trepid.

And then it dawned on me. This was Ivan's plan to get to us. He was sending the love interest of every single warrior we had to throw them off. Did that mean Kiku had run off to go find a weapon to fight me with? If that was the case, then if I wanted to leave here alive I would have to find a real sword of my own and quick. Getting to my feet, I brushed past the battling, ducking into the closest room and scanning it hurriedly for something, ANYTHING that wasn't this precious keepsake from my mother. As the other room had been, this one was relatively empty, lacking only the sheets over the furniture and the thick coat of dust. I walked further in, barely registering as this door also slammed shut behind me. There had to be a weapon somewhere!

Just as I was ready to give up and try a different room, I turned to find that in the spot where I had just been standing not two seconds before was a blade, gleaming silver in the milky dark light that poured in through the large, dirty bay windows. Settled calmly in its hilt like a jewel was the Greek flag, the very symbol of my home country. It was a breathtaking rapier, words from my language carved with gold into the handle, the words for "peace" and "love" shining in contrast to the rest of the impressive silver blade. I blinked once in confusion before taking the weapon into my hand, its weight and power strengthening my body.

"That is a very beautiful sword… it is inlaid with the touch of an angel's power."

I turned around slowly, holding my new rapier up before me, my jaw set even as I laid eyes on Kiku. He had his own katana drawn, his hand clutching its handle with obvious tension. His eyes, which had earlier been black, were back to their usual chocolate brown. If not for the weapon clenched in his hand, I might've even believed it was the real him. I narrowed my eyes, not ready to trust this man for a second.

"Heracles… why are you pointing the sword at me?" His eyes were wide with apparent fear, the perfect amount of terror seeping into his expression.

I took a step closer, until the blade was right at the pale white skin of his throat, nearly nicking his Adam's apple. "I can already tell you aren't Kiku by the way you hold yourself," I said fiercely. "If you think that I would fall for something like this… you must really think I'm stupid."

The figure wearing Kiku's face looked surprised for a moment, blinking up at me with his innocent eyes curiously. Then, like a nightmare, his face warped sickly and the Japanese man that I loved melted away, leaving nothing but an empty corpse at my feet. Sickened, I took a step away from the body, the intense demonic power almost knocking me down as it had before. I gripped the wall to keep myself standing, gagging helplessly from the nausea, sweat beginning to form on my neck and forehead. This wasn't Kiku's body… it couldn't be. He couldn't be dead. Ivan was cruel and sick, but surely he would at least use Kiku instead of murdering him. Shakily, I made myself check the dead man's face once more, just to be sure.

The corpse's features were crystalline and perfect in shape, a young boy lying calmly in death, a light smile on his lips.

The nausea increased painfully inside me. No, it wasn't Kiku. But it was a child, a teenager by the looks of him, not yet scarred by acne or the pains of adulthood. His features were clearly Asian, with dark hair that seemed to go everywhere, one particular piece bent into a strange almost soul-like fashion on the side of his head. His look was one so serene and utterly peaceful; he almost appeared to be sleeping, lazily snoring the day away.

Ivan had done this.

Straightening, I pulled my new weapon back upright in my grasp, a new pain driving me to find this psycho and destroy him. Making my way back into the hallway, I found that in my absence, this war that we conspirators had so carefully planned out had finally come to play. Shocked, I made my way through bloody wreckage, the wounded bodies of the angel warriors we had called force strewn across the floor. It was painfully obvious that we were already losing this, especially as I neared the front line, where Sadiq, Arthur, and the rest of our army were fighting with all their might against the biggest group of demons I had ever seen conjugated in one area.

They were exhausted and bleeding, the majority of them with open wounds, and covered with sweat. How much longer would they last before they, too, ended up like the angels that were now suffering on the dirtied floor? Feeling there was no other option, I leapt in to join them, slashing at the never ending swarm of darkness with strangely skilled slices.

"About…. time!" Sadiq yelled, quickly dodging as claws shot out at him. "I… took out… Gupta! We c-couldn't… get him on our s-side though…"

Startled, I resisted the urge to look over at him. They hadn't been able to control Gupta? Did that mean he had been following Ivan's rule of his own choice? If that was the case, how many more of them weren't being brainwashed by him? Questions began bubbling in my mind quickly, but I hurriedly tried to suppress them, knowing my life depended upon concentration right now as I made a wide arc with my sword, taking out three of Ivan's thousands of followers. But Ivan's followers weren't enough to sate me now, now that a child had died before my eyes.

I would make him pay.

Caught in a sudden savagery, I cut an opening through the enemy wall, trusting my mother up in Heaven… or wherever she was… to protect me and keep me safe in my mission. I heard Arthur call something out to me, a shrill and terrified word, but I ignored him. I could do this. I needed to do this. I had to find Kiku alive. As if I were poisonous to the touch, the creatures backed away from me as I made my way toward Ivan, who was no doubt hiding behind this mass.

And then I heard the yowls. More than a little taken aback, I turned my head in disbelief as all the cats that I had ever owned (living and dead) plus some launched themselves at the demons with all their might, claws extended. They tore into their prey much more quickly than the angels had, the felines destroying the things en masse.

I smiled slyly to myself as I slid unnoticed to the back of the group. Hadn't I told them my cats would be useful?

"Strange. I am not believing that I let cats in to play my game." Ivan's voice was mildly disappointed. "But I suppose they can be playing too! I will still be winning!"

The second I was in his presence, my back caught fire again, burning with heated pain that had me cringing. He just smiled, his lilac eyes heavily-lidded with a certain malice that brought chills to my arms, our gazes meeting heatedly. I was surprised to find him alone, no henchman by his side to protect him from me, not even a weapon around beside my own blade. I gritted my teeth, my muscles tensing uncomfortably. If Yao wasn't with Ivan… then where was he?

"Are you here to be playing with me?" He looked like a pleased child getting what he asked for for Christmas, full of innocent joy. "And I was getting so bored! Let me be finding a weapon and then we can be having fun, _da_? Hmm, now I think I will be using… ah! My big sword!"

Out of nowhere, a massive all-black sword materialized in his brown gloved hands.

In response, I found myself drawing myself into a fighting stance that was both unfamiliar and confusing to me. Another shot of pain ripped through my spine, fiercer this time as it traveled all the way to my tailbone and shot back up to my shoulder blades. Suddenly, the violent despondency gathered in one spot, almost sending to my knees gasping. Then, weirdly, there was a shredding noise and as soon as the anguish had begun, it was over, and I felt as if a burden had been taken off of me. I found myself able to stand straight again, ready to take on the crazy man who was smiling manically in front of me.

"The game has become more interesting," he purred, letting his wings loose. "I did not think that you were having the wings."

Wings? The pain, the intense burning in my back… was that what that had been? Curiously, I tensed my back muscles and was surprised to hear the sound of flapping coming from behind me. So it was true. Now, I was officially an angel, one of the warriors meant to fight of the likes of creatures like HIM. Ready to end this, I simply stared, cocking my sword in his general direction. He gave an amused giggle and took my challenge, his strong, black glossed wings taking him high into the air. I followed the best I could, my newly born feathers causing my flying to be bumpy and erratic. The second I was within striking distance, he was after me, slashing mercilessly at my unarmored body.

I deflected and dodged, but I could tell he wasn't going to give me any form of opening to strike back. I was completely on the defensive against this magic-wielding, demon-summoning mastermind, and my time was definitely short. It wouldn't be too long before the demons finally overtook the conspirators and we were all dead. If I didn't stop him soon, I would never be able to save Arthur and Sadiq. I would never be able to find the real Kiku.

My head filling with unwanted pictures of Kiku's mangled dead body and that teenager's pale corpse smiling in death, I lashed out at the demon before me, furious. He dodged easily, his wings simply gliding his body out of my reach, and struck back out at me, landing a blow on my shoulder. I sucked in a pained breath, blood welling from the slice and running down my arm sickly. I bit my lip in a sad attempt not to cry out.

He just laughed, cutting at me repeatedly, his excitement growing as he slashed me again, this time on my face, cutting a long gash across my face. Blood ran into my eyes immediately, blinding me, and this time I couldn't help myself; I let out an agonized moan and blindly stabbed at him. Unable to see, I didn't expect the gasp of surprise that came from his lips as my sword made contact with his body, slicing into him. I took the opportunity to wipe my eyes free of their bloody burden, my vision returning to find that I had lodged my weapon right into Ivan's chest. His eyes were wide and cloudy as he tried to pry the metal out of himself, his hands shaking in surprise.

Equally shocked, I could do nothing but stare, stare as the life drained slowly out of him, my eyes on his, the pain in his expression completely human. As I watched, the lilac of his irises darkened to almost black, his whole body contorting in a strange way that didn't seem real in the least. Suddenly, his hair grew black, he became shorter and frailer, much like a woman in figure, and his clothes changed, the tan trench coat morphing slowly into a pale white kimono, now slathered in innocent blood, dripping red in the spot where my sword had made contact.

No…. Frantically, I looked around for any sign that this wasn't real, that this wasn't happening, that Kiku would be smiling at me in that calm way he always did from somewhere. When all I found was an empty room staring back at me, I yanked the sword out of his body hurriedly, throwing it recklessly to the ground and pulling his gasping body into my arms. He stared up at me, his dark eyes searching my face aimlessly, his snowy cheeks stained with red. As carefully as I could, I landed, and gently placed him on the ground, panic rising in my chest as I realized what I had done.

What I had done with my own hands.

I tried to speak, to say his name one last time, but my voice was gone. He brought one trembling hand up, placing it on my face blindly, tears started to form in his eyes. His mouth opened, maybe to tell me that he loved me, maybe that he was sorry for all that had happened, that everything was okay and this was just a dream, but I never got to hear it. Nothing but blood erupted from his lips as he spoke, his words cutting off painfully. I leaned toward him, desperate to catch one last word, to hear the sound of his voice one more time.

"_G-gomennasi…" _he told me before re-clenching his sword in his fist and shoving as far inside of my body as it would go.

"You bloody idiot! I swear, you're so easily manipulated! Don't you have a mind of your own inside that thick skull? At least I have the willpower to avoid being controlled by psychotic Russian men! You could've been killed, Alfred! Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Yeah, but I didn't get killed! That's gotta mean something, right? Besides, you need to stop worrying about me so much!"

Arthur gave a heavy sigh. When he spoke again, his voice was thick with emotion. "Why should I? I… I missed you, stupid wanker."

Several groups of voices came and receded outside the door as I lay in the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling. The wound in my lower abdomen burned, but the pain in my heart was worse by far, demanding my attention. I couldn't pretend anymore… Kiku was dead. His delicate life had been stolen by my sword. In a desperate attempt to take me with him, he'd slashed me open, but it hadn't been fatal. He'd been too disoriented by near-death to aim properly and take me out. Now I was lying here, living, while Kiku was far away, somewhere that, maybe, he could be happy.

I closed my eyes as the tears started to well in them again, the thought of my crime pulling at my mind and soul.

Kiku had been the single fatality that night, aside from the teenage boy who I'd learned was Yong Soo, Yao's younger brother and a few cats. Ivan had disappeared without a trace, even leaving both of his henchmen up in Heaven in an effort to escape death. There had been many wounded, though, and most of the injured lay in different rooms healing quickly, as angels did. As I did. Angelic blood ran through me, just as much as demonic blood. Which, as we figured out, resulted in even faster healing than angelic from Gupta. Sadiq had all but skewered the Egyptians heart out when they found him, but, only three days later, he was fully healed.

I curled up into a ball, seeking the comfort of a fluffy cat and a long, long nap. I wanted to go home, back to reality and sanity, back to the place where everyone was who they seemed and no one was any stronger than anyone else. If only I knew Kiku would be waiting there… Unable to stand being here any longer, I stood up, much to my body's protests, and opened the window, prepared to leap. Just as I was about to go, the door slammed open and somebody grabbed onto the back of my shirt.

"What do you think you're doing? Jumping out a window isn't going to get you home, it'll get you killed," Sadiq lectured, pulling me back inside. "So I know what you're thinking right about now. You murdered your true love brutally and in cold blood, so now you think that you can kill yourself and it'll all be better, right? WRONG! You don't NEED to die, because guess what? Angels reincarnate! In fact, Kiku already HAS! So if you kill yourself, you'll have to go through this big huge thing where you're both reinvented and have to meet up again and blah blah blah. But if you stay alive and you still want to be with him, all you need to do is have a little patience and wait for him to grow up again! Yeah, you'll be a teeny bit older but do you realize that Kiku's soul has been reincarnated almost twenty times now? In full reality, you're still ten, maybe fifteen, times younger than him because you're still on your first life."

I stared at him uncomprehendingly. Was he trying to save my life…?

"Who did he reincarnate as?" I wondered blankly.

He snorted, apparently amused. "As another one of Yao's little brothers. They knew it was him, so he's still named Kiku and everything. Anyway, they said you can come and see him when he's older. You'll be a kind of… brother to him for a bit, I guess."

"And… will he remember me at all?"

"Eh, probably will. I mean, it's hard to forget someone who killed you," he snickered.

I didn't have the energy to fight back.

Just then, the door opened again, and Gupta came in, looking just as mysterious and refined as always. "They are departing for Earth."

It was hard to miss the way Sadiq's eyes lit up when the Egyptian came in. "Hey, come on, if you're well enough to attempt suicide, why don't you come back home with us?" Sadiq asked.

Nodding, I joined them, following out to the others before we departed, knocking me completely unconscious yet again.

This time when I opened my eyes, I knew I was home. Everything was familiar; the sight, the sounds, even the smell brought comfort to my heart. I stood and stretched, the pain in my abdomen the only reminder that any of this had ever occurred to begin with. A plethora of cats coated in bandages sat everywhere in my room, exhausted from their courageous escapades in Heaven, furthering proving that this was no nightmare.

I really had killed Kiku.

My stomach roiling from hunger, I almost didn't notice the piece of paper lying on my bedside table as I went to search for breakfast. Confused, I picked it up.

_He is safe in my hands, aru. Come visit when you like._

Despite it all, I couldn't fight the smile that came to my face as I pulled on a jacket and meandered out the door.


End file.
